Psychedelic Porn Crumpets - Mr. Prism
Richard Thompson - I Feel So Good
Sparks - The Existential Threat
The Dead Pirates - Wood
The Future Sound Of London - We Have Explosive
Vampillia - Lilac
Wolf Parade - Julia Take Your Man Home
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Pin
Yellow Majesty - Honey Sweet
Zywiołak - Bóstwa
Following the release of “Mr. Prism” earlier this month, their first single of 2020, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets have now shared an adventure-filled clay animation video for the song. Created by Oliver Jones, who the band have collaborated with previously on their similarly kaleidoscopic videos, the video for ‘Mr. Prism’ takes us on a colourful journey through ‘sweetsville’, with some surprisingly dark encounters along the way. On the creation of the video, McEwan says: “A prismatic man needs a colourful adventure, so when we were throwing ideas back & forth with Oliver it was hard to pass on an edible Claymation. All of us were in awe when he sent us through the final animation – proper cherry-on-top work!” From: https://thefirenote.com/videos/psychedelic-porn-crumpets-mr-prism-video/
The critical consensus is that Rumour and Sigh is your most accessible record to date. Do you agree?
I’m always making a conscious effort to be viable and accessible. Obviously, I’m not very good at it or I would have sold billions of records by now. [laughs] With a major label release, I certainly want to give them something they can work with if possible, without compromising my artistic integrity man. [said tongue-in-cheek] I do like to please myself on records though. I don’t like making records for other people. It’s a very forced job. So, I try and self-criticize and rely on quality as the yardstick.
What overt influence did the label have on the record?
They changed a song title. One was called "The Lost Sheep Returns to the Fold." [original title of "I Feel So Good"] They didn’t think it was snappy enough. They’re probably right, but I like those Gilbert & Sullivan titles. It’s not really interference though, because in a sense, I don’t know anything about record companies or how they work as far as marketing. I don’t really care what they do in terms of what they put on the radio or how they package something. If they think they know how to do it, I’m willing to see what they come up with.
Speaking of marketing, Capitol is financing an elaborate animated video for "I Feel So Good."
Yes, as we speak, thousands of Koreans are slaving over it. It’s being done by the same people who do The Simpsons. It doesn’t look like The Simpsons, but it’s very, very interesting. It’s quite an original piece. It’s my first promo video since 1983. Since then, they’ve been using bits of a long form concert video called Across a Crowded Room they shot in Ottawa, Canada at a club called Barrymore’s.
From: https://www.innerviews.org/inner/thompson-1
UK director/animator Cyriak brings all his mastery of subversive weirdness to this music video for “The Existential Threat”, a track off the newest album from venerable American pop innovators Sparks. Cyriak: “When I was asked to make a music video for Sparks I could hardly believe it. They sent me the whole of their new album to choose from, and there was this one song that immediately stood out ‘The Existential Threat’. Not only did the music fit perfectly with my animation style, but the subject of existential dread is also something I have been fascinated by for as long as I can remember. It was like I could see the whole video inside my head as I listened to the song. The brief was totally open, but I felt this track deserved more than just some crazy visuals. It has a psychology driving it, and a feeling that hangs over us all, especially in these modern times of information overload. Are these threats real, or imaginary? Are they just a paranoid delusion, or do we ignore them at our peril? It was great fun making this video, and I hope it makes people think about their inevitable impending death in a more light-hearted way.” From: https://www.stashmedia.tv/sparks-existential-threat/
Dead Pirates roared into existence in 2009 as the “band” behind “Wood (Dirty Melody),” an infectious slice of garage punk that soundtracked an animated music video by the French illustrator Matthieu Bessudo—better known as Mcbess. At the time, the “band” was just Mcbess himself, a chance for him to stretch his creative muscles beyond the Max Fleischer-inspired artwork and videos for which he’s become known. Mcbess created the video for “Wood” during his day job at Oscar-winning VFX studio The Mill. “What I wanted to do was make music,” he says. “It didn’t really matter if I became famous or anything like that. It just started to get bigger and bigger.” From: https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/dead-pirates-interview
We Have Explosive is an electrifying animation by Run Wrake. Wrake directed it as a music video for Future Sound of London's 1996 single "We Have Explosive" and it features snippets from the 1994 short "Jukebox." I love the collaged look of the trippy world in this video. Wrake was an incredible animation director and graphic designer who lived from 1963 to 2012. From: https://boingboing.net/2022/07/06/we-have-explosive-is-an-electrifying-animation-by-run-wrake.html
Check out the music video for Lilac from the ten piece “brutal orchestra” known as Vampillia. The track features vocals from the iconic Jun Togawa, frontwoman for such influential bands as Yapoos and Geurnica. The grotesque music video was put together by “Toolate” and Tomomi Komazaki for the album “The Divine Move”. The visuals, that feel reminiscent of the work of standout mangakas’ like Nishioka Kyoudai, Hideshi Hino or Shintaro Kago, offers a disturbing backdrop too the otherwise serene track. Additionally, Togawa’s vocals elicit a strong emotional response, sung with the bravado that made her an icon and innovator of the rock and pop genre. From: https://asianmoviepulse.com/2020/10/music-video-lilac-by-vampillia-feat-jun-togawa/
Wolf Parade have shared the official music video for their Thin Mind track "Julia Take Your Man Home." For the psychedelic visuals, the band enlisted fellow Canadian indie rocker, skilled animator and Sub Pop labelmate Chad VanGaalen. Released as a single earlier this month, "Julia Take Your Man Home" follows previous tracks "Against the Day" and "Forest Green," and hears Spencer Krug on lead vocals, exploring male stupidity. The release of the video comes on the tails of a North American tour announcement, which includes a handful of Canadian dates. From: https://exclaim.ca/music/article/wolf_parade_share_chad_vangaalen-directed_music_video_for_julia_take_your_man_home
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Pin: With a very cartoonish stop-motion animation, the production fits well with the song's lyrics and shows a doll (probably Karen O) being chased and tormented by a contraption that sticks pins into her. The animation is quite peculiar and even features a romance with a cockroach. The plot focuses on those insects that are pinned and framed for collection. Translated from: https://musicainstantanea.com.br/videografia-yeah-yeah-yeahs/
‘Honey Sweet’ is 3.27 min long and it takes you on one of the most intense, surreal, colorful, funny, provoking, entertaining, cute, crazy, and uniquely weird journeys. Its grotesque, appealing, and raw imagery is presented in a fresh, stylish, and modern format, making it such a unique video and song worth remembering. On top of that, there is a character in the video resembling the world wide known wrestler The Undertaker, doing what he does best, putting the evil into the grave.
His karmic role in the video goes well with the story of the song, emphasizing human behaviour when it is as its most sinful stage, doing all the things that one wants to do in the name of sex, glutony, greed, wrath, hypocrisy, addiction, and more. The video is thus a direct projection of showing the double standards of human nature, manifested through a very entertaining, different, and thought provoking way, offering the viewer many different layers of interpretation and at the same time providing a high sense of ridicule and irony in the message: life is honey sweet!
The video was animated by the artist Inari Sirola, and this is what she had to say about the collaboration with Amir, the man behind Yellow Majesty: The track’s melodic rhythm evoked my creativity. Coming into this project I really wanted to give this beat a visual representation. Amir approached me, knowing my style and being familiar with my previous work. This allowed me to tap into the weird and comedic corners of my dark imagination. The brief I received had wonderful ideas and after an in-depth conversation with Amir we established what he wanted for the music video and what I could offer to the project.
The juxtaposition of grotesque imagery and the naivety of the world building is something I will always treasure. Although I knew the music video wouldn’t have a traditional A to B narrative I really enjoyed having some of these elements within the into. One of my favorite things in my work is writing dialogue, within the shortest interactions it allows you to establish characters as well as set the tone. From: https://staticdive.com/2021/03/05/yellow-majesty-honey-sweet/
The song Bóstwa (Deities), included on 2017 album Pieśni pół/nocy (Midnight Songs), mirrors Żywiołak’s place as an ambassador between Slavic folk tradition and modern, Western rock through its depiction of Kupala, a pagan holiday celebrated on the longest day of the year. Originally practiced as fertility rites and an homage to the Sun, Kupala became Ivan Kupala, and fused with the Christian John the Baptist in a process known as syncretism. From: https://popkult.org/zywiolak/
The critical consensus is that Rumour and Sigh is your most accessible record to date. Do you agree?
I’m always making a conscious effort to be viable and accessible. Obviously, I’m not very good at it or I would have sold billions of records by now. [laughs] With a major label release, I certainly want to give them something they can work with if possible, without compromising my artistic integrity man. [said tongue-in-cheek] I do like to please myself on records though. I don’t like making records for other people. It’s a very forced job. So, I try and self-criticize and rely on quality as the yardstick.
What overt influence did the label have on the record?
They changed a song title. One was called "The Lost Sheep Returns to the Fold." [original title of "I Feel So Good"] They didn’t think it was snappy enough. They’re probably right, but I like those Gilbert & Sullivan titles. It’s not really interference though, because in a sense, I don’t know anything about record companies or how they work as far as marketing. I don’t really care what they do in terms of what they put on the radio or how they package something. If they think they know how to do it, I’m willing to see what they come up with.
Speaking of marketing, Capitol is financing an elaborate animated video for "I Feel So Good."
Yes, as we speak, thousands of Koreans are slaving over it. It’s being done by the same people who do The Simpsons. It doesn’t look like The Simpsons, but it’s very, very interesting. It’s quite an original piece. It’s my first promo video since 1983. Since then, they’ve been using bits of a long form concert video called Across a Crowded Room they shot in Ottawa, Canada at a club called Barrymore’s.
From: https://www.innerviews.org/inner/thompson-1
UK director/animator Cyriak brings all his mastery of subversive weirdness to this music video for “The Existential Threat”, a track off the newest album from venerable American pop innovators Sparks. Cyriak: “When I was asked to make a music video for Sparks I could hardly believe it. They sent me the whole of their new album to choose from, and there was this one song that immediately stood out ‘The Existential Threat’. Not only did the music fit perfectly with my animation style, but the subject of existential dread is also something I have been fascinated by for as long as I can remember. It was like I could see the whole video inside my head as I listened to the song. The brief was totally open, but I felt this track deserved more than just some crazy visuals. It has a psychology driving it, and a feeling that hangs over us all, especially in these modern times of information overload. Are these threats real, or imaginary? Are they just a paranoid delusion, or do we ignore them at our peril? It was great fun making this video, and I hope it makes people think about their inevitable impending death in a more light-hearted way.” From: https://www.stashmedia.tv/sparks-existential-threat/
Dead Pirates roared into existence in 2009 as the “band” behind “Wood (Dirty Melody),” an infectious slice of garage punk that soundtracked an animated music video by the French illustrator Matthieu Bessudo—better known as Mcbess. At the time, the “band” was just Mcbess himself, a chance for him to stretch his creative muscles beyond the Max Fleischer-inspired artwork and videos for which he’s become known. Mcbess created the video for “Wood” during his day job at Oscar-winning VFX studio The Mill. “What I wanted to do was make music,” he says. “It didn’t really matter if I became famous or anything like that. It just started to get bigger and bigger.” From: https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/dead-pirates-interview
We Have Explosive is an electrifying animation by Run Wrake. Wrake directed it as a music video for Future Sound of London's 1996 single "We Have Explosive" and it features snippets from the 1994 short "Jukebox." I love the collaged look of the trippy world in this video. Wrake was an incredible animation director and graphic designer who lived from 1963 to 2012. From: https://boingboing.net/2022/07/06/we-have-explosive-is-an-electrifying-animation-by-run-wrake.html
Check out the music video for Lilac from the ten piece “brutal orchestra” known as Vampillia. The track features vocals from the iconic Jun Togawa, frontwoman for such influential bands as Yapoos and Geurnica. The grotesque music video was put together by “Toolate” and Tomomi Komazaki for the album “The Divine Move”. The visuals, that feel reminiscent of the work of standout mangakas’ like Nishioka Kyoudai, Hideshi Hino or Shintaro Kago, offers a disturbing backdrop too the otherwise serene track. Additionally, Togawa’s vocals elicit a strong emotional response, sung with the bravado that made her an icon and innovator of the rock and pop genre. From: https://asianmoviepulse.com/2020/10/music-video-lilac-by-vampillia-feat-jun-togawa/
Wolf Parade have shared the official music video for their Thin Mind track "Julia Take Your Man Home." For the psychedelic visuals, the band enlisted fellow Canadian indie rocker, skilled animator and Sub Pop labelmate Chad VanGaalen. Released as a single earlier this month, "Julia Take Your Man Home" follows previous tracks "Against the Day" and "Forest Green," and hears Spencer Krug on lead vocals, exploring male stupidity. The release of the video comes on the tails of a North American tour announcement, which includes a handful of Canadian dates. From: https://exclaim.ca/music/article/wolf_parade_share_chad_vangaalen-directed_music_video_for_julia_take_your_man_home
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Pin: With a very cartoonish stop-motion animation, the production fits well with the song's lyrics and shows a doll (probably Karen O) being chased and tormented by a contraption that sticks pins into her. The animation is quite peculiar and even features a romance with a cockroach. The plot focuses on those insects that are pinned and framed for collection. Translated from: https://musicainstantanea.com.br/videografia-yeah-yeah-yeahs/
‘Honey Sweet’ is 3.27 min long and it takes you on one of the most intense, surreal, colorful, funny, provoking, entertaining, cute, crazy, and uniquely weird journeys. Its grotesque, appealing, and raw imagery is presented in a fresh, stylish, and modern format, making it such a unique video and song worth remembering. On top of that, there is a character in the video resembling the world wide known wrestler The Undertaker, doing what he does best, putting the evil into the grave.
His karmic role in the video goes well with the story of the song, emphasizing human behaviour when it is as its most sinful stage, doing all the things that one wants to do in the name of sex, glutony, greed, wrath, hypocrisy, addiction, and more. The video is thus a direct projection of showing the double standards of human nature, manifested through a very entertaining, different, and thought provoking way, offering the viewer many different layers of interpretation and at the same time providing a high sense of ridicule and irony in the message: life is honey sweet!
The video was animated by the artist Inari Sirola, and this is what she had to say about the collaboration with Amir, the man behind Yellow Majesty: The track’s melodic rhythm evoked my creativity. Coming into this project I really wanted to give this beat a visual representation. Amir approached me, knowing my style and being familiar with my previous work. This allowed me to tap into the weird and comedic corners of my dark imagination. The brief I received had wonderful ideas and after an in-depth conversation with Amir we established what he wanted for the music video and what I could offer to the project.
The juxtaposition of grotesque imagery and the naivety of the world building is something I will always treasure. Although I knew the music video wouldn’t have a traditional A to B narrative I really enjoyed having some of these elements within the into. One of my favorite things in my work is writing dialogue, within the shortest interactions it allows you to establish characters as well as set the tone. From: https://staticdive.com/2021/03/05/yellow-majesty-honey-sweet/
The song Bóstwa (Deities), included on 2017 album Pieśni pół/nocy (Midnight Songs), mirrors Żywiołak’s place as an ambassador between Slavic folk tradition and modern, Western rock through its depiction of Kupala, a pagan holiday celebrated on the longest day of the year. Originally practiced as fertility rites and an homage to the Sun, Kupala became Ivan Kupala, and fused with the Christian John the Baptist in a process known as syncretism. From: https://popkult.org/zywiolak/
Psychedelic Porn Crumpets
Richard Thompson
Sparks
The Dead Pirates
The Future Sound Of London
Vampillia
Wolf Parade
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Yellow Majesty
Zywiołak
