Category: Video

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: French JOVM Mainstays Pastel Coast Return with a Cinematic Visual for Breezy “Distance”

Led by their Boulogne-sur-Mer, France-based creative mastermind Quentin Isidore (vocals, guitar) and featuring Benjamin Fiorini (drums), Ingrid Letourneau (keys), Marion Plouviez (guitar, vocals) and Renaud Retaux (bass), the rising French dream pop act Pastel Coast has received attention both nationally and internationally for developing and honing a melancholic sound deeply indebted to the early 90s Manchester scene. 

2019 was an enormous year for the French indie act: their full-length debut Hovercraft landed on Dream Pop Magazine‘s Top 100. And adding to a the growing buzz surrounding them, the band wound up landing a slot at last year’s Inouïs du Printemps de Bourges, which was unfortunately cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Continuing that momentum, the French dream pop act and JOVM mainstays will be releasing their highly anticipated full-length debut Sun is slated for a June 4, 2021 release. The album will feature two previously released — and attention grabbing — singles “Rendezvous” and “Dial” a breezy synths of New Order and Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix-era Phoenix that evoked the swooning euphoria of new love.

Earlier this year, the band released “Sunset,” a glistening and breezy number that’s a carefully crafted synthesis of New Zealand jangle pop and Phoenix that thematically focused on lovelorn folks racing against time to try to find love before sunset. The album’s fourth and latest single “Distance” continues a run of shimmering and infectious pop — but interestingly enough, it’s more of a synth-driven number with angular guitar bursts, gently Autotuned vocals and a euphoric hook that’s perfect for the club and for the beach.

Directed by the band’s Quentin Isidore and filmed by David Sagot, the recently released video for “Distance” continues a run of incredibly cinematic visuals — this one seemingly indebted to French New Wave, thanks to the use of subtitles with the song’s lyrics as we follow a man who’s blocked by flowing fabrics and flags in front of him.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: KUNZITE Follows the Girlswirl Crew in Venice Beach for Summery Visual for “FROSTY”

KUNZITE — RATATTAT’s Mike Stroud and Hawaii and Oregon-based Agustin White — can trace their origins to the fact that the individual members’ various movements have found them occasionally crossing each other paths yet consistently admiring each other’s work: While stroud was busy touring with RATATAT, White went on a spiritual journey exploring yoga, meditation and psychedelics. But throughout their friendship the duo were looking to do something together. Interestingly, the formation of KUNTIZE allowed Stroud and White the ability to merge their minds and missions with a sound that blends psychedelia with beat-heavy electronic production and live instrumentation.

The duo’s debut effort, 2018’s Birds Don’t Fly was written and recorded mostly through email. But their forthcoming sophomore album VISUALS, which will be released through Lowly/Wilder Records reportedly finds the duo writing and recording material together — in the same space. Throughout the recording process, the duo came to realize that their best vocals are when their voices from together in the atmosphere and meet in harmony. So far, the duo have released two singles from their forthcoming sophomore album — “SATURN” AND “NOVAS” but the album’s third and latest single “FROSTY” sees the duo changing things up a bit, with Stroud taking up lead vocal duties on a feel good, summery jam centered around a trippy and cosmic groove featuring an easy-going bass line, shimmering synths and Stroud’s laid back vocals.

Directed by Priest Fontaine Batten, the recently released video for “FROSTY” was filmed in sunny and beautiful Venice Beach, CA and features the all-female identifying surfing and skating crew GIRLSWIRL boldly doing their thing as the confident, give no fucks badasses that they are. “It’s about grabbing your board or wheels and just having fun,” KUNZITE’s Agustin White says in press notes. “All of the athletes featured in the video were super supportive and encouraging of one another. You see their different skills on display throughout the video, including roller skaters, who have made such a big comeback over the last few years, for Black Culture, it’s always been there. The roots of roller skating lie within the Black community and we wanted to honor that.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: HolyShit Sessions: Balthazar Performs “Moment”

A few years back, acclaimed Belgian indie rock act and JOVM mainstays Balthazar –songwriting duo Maarten Devoldere and Jinte Deprez, along with Simon Casier, Michiel Balcaen and Tijs Delbeke — went on a hiatus that allowed the band’s songwriting duo to pursue their own critically applauded, attention grabbing solo projects: Devoldere’s brooding and hyper literature Warhaus and Deprez’s old school R&B-inspired J. Bernardt. And while Devoldere and Deprez found the ability to pursue their own individual whims and muses liberating, they found the time apart from each other and the band sparking an undeniable urge to work together, propelled by a greater mutual respect for each other’s individual work — and a desire for a much broader artistic vision for the band.

When the members of the JOVM mainstay act reconvened to work on 2019’s Fever, they did so without any particular plan. But their hope was that they improve upon their previously released work, show deeper artistic growth and further the band’s story. And when Devoldere and Deprez began working on Fever, they mutually agreed that the album’s material would have a less serious, less melancholy tone. And as a result, Fever may arguably be among the loosest and most playful of their careers while maintaining the deliberate craftsmanship and razor sharp hooks that have won them attention both nationally and internationally.

Balthazar supported Fever with a relentless touring schedule that included a stop at Baby’s All Right. Feeling invigorated from playing Fever on tour, Devoldere and Deprez started working on a new batch material that included the sultry, Quiet Storm-like “Halfway,” a track that found the band continuing where their last album left off — but while pushing the overall sound and aesthetic in an even more accessible, pop-leaning direction. 

The JOVM mainstays fifth — and latest — album Sand finds the band fully embracing the soulful alt pop/R&B sound while being what the band believes may be the most cohesive album of their growing catalog to date. “There’s a theme running through these tracks, waiting, restlessness, not being able to live in the moment or putting your trust into the future,” Balthazar’s Deprez and Devoldere explain in press notes. “We’re at a point in our lives when we have to consider these aspects of life, that’s why the album is called Sand – after the sand in an hourglass.”

“The idea was always to drop another album as soon as possible after Fever. It was fun and we wanted to build on that,” Jinte Deprez says in press notes. “We did a lot of things that we haven’t done previously – we’ve never used as many drum samples or used bass synths before. So that was an exciting step for us. It was a very modern way of making an album, due to the constraints of the pandemic and we had to work remotely and converse electronically rather than in a studio.” “I can’t wait to play this album live because on the Fever tour we pushed the groove element further,” Maarten Devoldere adds.

So far I’ve written about four of Sand‘s officially released singles:

The aforementioned “Halfway,” a shimmering, blue-eyed soul take on the Quiet Storm sound.
“Losers,” a slinky, disco-tinged yet sophisticated track centered around Devoldere’s sultry baritone, shimmering synth arpeggios and an infectious hook, but at its core, the song captures the anxious uncertainty of our moment, a moment in which most of us feel as though our personal and professional lives have been in an indefinite stasis.
“You Won’t Come Around,” a slow-burning and cinematic, R&B-inspired track featuring shimmering strings, strummed acoustic guitar, skittering beats and Devoldore expressing a confusing yet familiar series of emotions: regret and heartache that a romantic relationship has ended, relief that the relationship has ended and guilt that maybe they’ve moved on a bit too quickly; or in other words, the gnawing sense that you might be a selfish, uncaring asshole.
“On A Roll,” a strutting yet seamless synthesis of their pre-Fever sound with their recent R&B-influenced leaning centered around Deprez’s crooning falsetto.

The band released a great teaser for the film, a loose live version of album single “Moment” that finds the members of the band joyously expanding its groove and relishing playing music together — all while being a smooth yet cinematic take on R&B.

Sand is out now through Play It Again Sam. Additionally, Sand Castle Tapes will have its livestream premiere on June 3, 2021. You can buy tickets here:https://www.momenthouse.com/co/balthazar-sand-castle-tapes.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Seattle’s True Loves Stick it to The Man in Visual for “Sunday Afternoon”

True Loves is a rising Seattle-based instrumental soul outfit that can trace its origins to a jam session back in 2014 between three of the city’s best players — David McGraw (drums), Bryant Moore (bass) and Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio‘s Jimmy James (guitar). Since then, the band has expanded into a globalized unit with the addition of Iván Galvez (percussionist), Odesza‘s, Monophonics‘ and PolyrhythmicsJason Cressey (trombone), Mackelmore‘s Greg Kramer (trombone), Gordon Brown (sax) and the acclaimed Skerik (sax). The band has developed a reputation as a must-see live act locally — and they’ve amassed millions of streams on YouTube.

The act’s full-length debut, 2017’s Famous Last Words received praise locally and as a result, the act landed sets at a number of regional festivals including Sasquatch, Doe Bay and Upstream. The members of the Seattle-based act followed the release of their full-length debut, with a handful of singles including 2018’s “Dapper Derp”/”Kabuki” 45RPM single and 2019’s “Famous Last Words”/”Mary Pop Poppins” 45RPM single.

The Seattle-based group’s sophomore full-length effort Sunday Afternoon is slated for release next Friday through Color Red, and the album sonically and thematically is a sort of soundtrack for the Sunday afternoon block party that has brought the entire neighborhood out. Last month, I wrote about the Greg Kramer and Bryant Moore co-written single “Yard Byrds,” a slow-burning, G funk-like pimp strut crafted around the use of just four chords. It’s the sort of song that will have you picturing yourself strutting and flossing down the street. Of course, building up buzz for the album, album single and title track “Sunday Afternoon” is a cinematic and strutting funky jam centered around an expansive composition that simultaneously nods at Ennio Morricone soundtracks and The Payback-era James Brown psych funk/psych soul.

Produced by Wild Gravity and filmed at Seattle’s Rainier Valley Cultural Arts Center, the recently released video for “Sunday Afternoon” is one-part A-Team, one-part Oceans 11, one-part Snatch-like visual that depicts the band plotting an ingenious heist to retrieve their master tapes, which were stolen by greedy, corporate music executive types. Of course, there’s a cork board with the plan marked down in detail — with each member of the band, playing their specific roles: the wheelman, the inside man, the muscle, the mastermind and so on.

With each member of the band donned in slick black suits, they successfully break into the corporate label’s compound to take back their masters and the label’s years of stolen earnings from hardworking artists. The video ends with the band proudly sticking it to the man while giving back to local venues and independent artists.
“We wanted to recognize what a difficult time this has been for musicians, venues, and their staffs while corporate greed continues and how artists are taken advantage of by those at the top who continue to prosper while others suffer—a modern Robinhood tale told through a heist video,” the band’s Bryant Moore explains.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Travel into Outer Space with Aussie Act The Sticks

With the release of their full-length debut, 2015’s self-titled album, the Sydney, Australia-based electronic trio The Sticks — Alon Ilsar (drums, percussion), Josh Ahearn (bass) and Daniel Pliner (keys) — quickly developed an innovative sound and approach that revolves around the AirSticks, a gestural electronic and “invisible” drum kit invented by the band’s Ilsar, who also contributes live drums.

During strict pandemic-related lockdowns last year, the trio spent their time mixing and editing music recorded on the Hawkesbury River back in 2019. And the first release from those sessions “EXMEN” is a trippy, intergalactic slow-burn, centered around Pliner’s shimmering and reverb-drenched keys, Ilson’s densely layered and textured rhythmic patterns and Ahearn’s slow-jam like groove. The song is remarkably cinematic and sounding as though it could be part of the 2001: A Space Odyssey while evoking weightlessness.

Edited by Evan McGregor, the recently released accompanying video features stock footage from the space age — from technicians, engineers and scientists looking at data, pictures and developing satellites, space phenomenon like sunspots and rockets taking off into space. It’s appropriately trippy journey into the galactic realm.

Continuing their reputation for being innovative, the band released a gestural musical iPhone app, where fans and listeners can reimagine the track through shaking and changing their phone’s orientation. It’s available on the Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/au/app/exmen/id1566489848

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Frank Rabeyrolles and Friends Perform “Winter One”

Frank Rabeyrolles is a French singer/songwriter and guitarist, who has released material under a variety of different names and outfits — but throughout his career, the French artist has developed a reputation as an obsessive and frenzied craftsman, whose work has often been described as otherworldly: centered round reverb-drenched guitars, Rabeyrolles’ work thematically touches upon distant reminiscences, unfinished business, frustration and more.

Back in 2019, Rabeyrolles released one EP each season of that calendar year. The end result was four EPS of atmospheric pop and lo-fi written and recorded solo and/or with Sarah Lucide in a Bedroom Pop fashion. That March, the French singer/songwriter and guitarist came up with the idea of recording a song with a group of friends at La Paloma Studio in Nîmes, France, giving the song a different life. Rabeyrolles recruited a backing band of friends that included Drive Blind’s and My Tigerside’s Rémi Saboul, Marvin’s Gregoire Bredel, Carole Fauré, My Favorite Horses’ Jean Alvarez and Le Super Homard’s Laurent Elfassy. The end result is the live version of “Winter One,” a brooding and slow-burning bit of dream pop and shoegaze centered around shimmering guitars, Rabeyrolles’ plaintive vocals and an enormous hook. Sonically, the track — to my ears, at least — is a seamless synthesis of R.E.M. and The Verve.

The live footage was filmed by Naomi Heinrich and Damien Oliveres and catches Rabeyrolles and his collaborators in an intimate, blue-lit setting.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Quilter Releases a Playful Visual for “The Long Weekend”

Stuart Dougan is a Glasgow-born and-based singer/songwriter, who is best known in his native Scotland for fronting French Wives and Smash Williams. Dougan steps out into the limelight as a solo artist, writing and recording every single part of music on his own terms with his latest project The Quilter. 

Dougan’s The Quilter debut, Bolt The Door EP is a collection of bold, alt pop songs, som eo which were written and recorded before the pandemic with others written during the initial lockdown. Interestingly, the EP follows upon last year’s immersive and cinematic visual record Dark Cloud/Grey Area, which was equal parts documentary film, live concert and album.

Bolt The Door’s latest single “The Long Weekend,” is an anthemic bit of synth pop featuring shimmering synth arpeggios, a driving groove and a euphoria-inducing hooks and fueled by nostalgia for hook-driven New Order-like dance anthems and for the things we here in the States are slowly getting back — in particular, being in the company of other sweaty and joyful humans at a summer festival and for other mundane things we’ve been deprived of for the past 15 months or so. 

“This song was in part inspired by a viral clip I saw from the set of Uncut Gems where the crew had finished filming and were all dancing to ‘I Feel It Coming’ by The Weeknd.  It was just a short clip but I wanted to try and capture the palpable sense of joy that was clearly being felt at the time.  It was written during lockdown and is basically a love letter to my friends and daydreaming about getting to hang out and have fun in a post pandemic world.  I’m very aware that it’s bombastic and over the top in places but I wanted to purposely try and capture a sense of hopeful euphoria that one day, not too far from here, you’ll get to hug all your friends again.”

The main star of the recently released video for “The Long Weekend” is a park bench on a beautiful Spring afternoon — but this park bench happens to be the spot: starting with The Quilter’s Dougan, a series of locals including kids, couples and people just walking their dogs sit on the bench and listen to music. In some way, it’s all a bit of a welcomed escape from their days. Adding to the playfulness of the video, Dougan eventually joins these people for a few minutes. While centered around a rather simple concept, the video reminds all of us is that music — and our love of it — are the way that we can connect with others, and that it inspires us to be around others.

“The whole concept of the video was, by design, supposed to be very simple so that it would be logistically easy to shoot and edit,” Stuart Dougan explains. “That may not be exciting to hear, but sometimes that’s how the sausage is made (quickly).  Disaster struck however when the footage from the shoot got corrupted due to (redacted, unimportant technical issue).  Long story short, the only way to salvage the footage was to pivot to a stop motion animation concept that resulted in over 8,500ish screenshots being taken to make it work.  It was traumatic and outrageously laborious so whilst I may struggle to ever watch it again, I hope that folk enjoy it!’