Category: Video

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Dali-esque, Dire Straits “Money For Nothing” Inspired Visuals for Jordan Burchel’s “Coffee Breath”

Vowel Sounds’ latest single “Coffee Breath” will further cement the Gainesville, FL-based multi-instrumentalist and producer’s burgeoning reputation for carefully crated rock with deeply introspective lyrics that sonically draws from psych rock and dream pop — although in this case, “Coffee Breath” much like the work of Drakkar Nowhere sounds as though it also draws from 70s AM rock as Burchel’s crooning is paired with shuffling drumming and subtly bluesy psych rock guitar chords. But just underneath the surface is a subtly mischievous sense of irony.

Animated by Tristan Whitehall at Squiggle Dot, the recently released video for “Coffee Breath” playfully nods at Dire Straits’ legendary and envelope pushing “Money for Nothing” but with an insouciance to the proceedings as the video follows an anthropomorphic coffee cup as it journeys through a Dali-esque desert to a surrealist living room and back to the desert — and during the journey, the coffee cup encounters a snake seductively wrapping itself around an anthropomorphic apple, an hourglass with a skull from it as the coffee cup holds another coffee cup and later drinks from it. It’s surreal but with a gloriously mischievous glee.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Understated Beautiful Visuals and Sounds of Bay Uno’s “Black Beauty”

It’s been over a year since I’ve last written about him and his work but he’s been playing a number of shows across town — including a December 7, 2016 set at The Slipper Room, which benefits Barc, a no-kill shelter. In any case, his latest single “Black Beauty” is a thoughtful and gorgeously hushed single featuring strummed guitar, twinkling percussion, bursts of accordion and a cinematic sweep paired with Bay Uno’s earnest and thoughtful crooning in a song that evokes the swooning sensation of being swept up in profound love and of finding oneself through a connection with nature. And much like his previously released singles there’s a sense of childlike awe and wonder that’s infectious — and should remind the listener of their own forgotten inner child.

The recently released video was shot on a grainy Instagram-like filter and shows the singer/songwriter riding a beautiful black horse, with whom he seems to have a profound connection, and of being in nature. And much like the song it possesses a simple and understated beauty.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Introducing the Funky, Jazz Fusion Sounds of A Tree Grows

The New York-based jazz quintet’s self-titled EP (which will serve as a teaser for their forthcoming full-length album) was released earlier this month and the band’s sound which is clearly jazz/jazz fusion based, also possesses elements of funk, bop jazz, jazz fusion shines through on the coolly atmospheric and funky first single “Wau Wau Water,” a composition that manages to evoke seething, bubbling and frothing water. And that shouldn’t be surprising as the band explains that each composition on both the EP and the LP is based around on a different concept, describing a distinct state in the evolution of life on Earth as we know it. “The images are snapshots, extending from the beginning of life, to the emergence of emotions, to aspects of modern human life. The cycle closes with possibilities for future development: self-perpetuating intelligence. The composition ‘Wau Wau Water’ is based on the following concept: ‘Enzymes are forming in a prehistoric ocean — evolving into bacteria. A stew of life is brewing, the cycle starts and intensifies in this patch of fertile Wau Wau Water.” As the band’s Emanuel Ruffler added “Defining and discussing these concepts during the rehearsal and recording process created a sense of purpose among the musicians and a deeper engagement with the compositions. This has transformed our creative process.”

Created by acclaimed videographer Hideki Shiota, who won Best Cinematography Award at the Asian American International Film Festival, the video employs a simple concept as you see the members of the band performing the song in the studio; however, the video is shot in a way so that you don’t see the musicians faces.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Politically Charged Visuals for Soto Voce’s “Better”

The duo’s debut single “Better” was quietly released and within a few weeks of its release, the track grabbed the attention of the blogosphere for a brooding, cinematic difficult to pigeonhole track that many of my colleagues have described with Sade-fronting Radiohead comparisons. And while being a bit reductionist, I think that what a lot of my colleagues have missed is that the song possesses a deeply personal and aching plea for acceptance, both within and without, in which De Vivo’s vocals manage to be sensual and aggressive within a turn of a phrase are paired with a production that alternate between moody atmospherics and club-banging, propulsive cascades of shimmering synths.

Although the video was specifically made as a comment on the deeply troubling and unsettling times we live in, complete around tensions around Black Lives Matter, Transgender and LGBTQ rights and fears of greater global unrest have reached boiling points, the video manages to not just be timely but serves as a fitting description of how uncertain things seem for minority groups around the world and how close to our destruction we actually are. As the duo’s Kenny Soto explains of the video ” In the video, I’m visualizing [sic] some really dark images, or maybe they’re being broadcasted to me. It depends on your perception. I’m watching people being desecrated and killed, crosses being burned. There comes a point when the car stops and Miguel steps out to open the door. I’m handcuffed, and he pushes me into a grave, and I come out on the other side another version of myself. For us the Black Lives Matter stuff, of course that’s something that becomes relevant [now], and it wasn’t necessarily we made it for that in any way. But it obviously is relevant to the current , and culture in general. Then the gender stuff as well, and both of those things kind of tie in and maybe being seen as worthless.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Sultry and Explosive Soul Sounds of Portugal’s Marta Ren and The Groovelets

Arguably best known for fronting Portuguese breakbeat outfit The Bombazines with whom she recorded and released two full-length albums, Porto, Portugal-born and based vocalist Marta Ren has been a vital part of the Portuguese music scene since the mid-1990s as she’s also lent her vocals to a number of nationally known acts in her homeland and played at some of the country’s most renowned clubs and festivals. However, Ren has a long passion for the deep funk and soul of the 60s and she decided that it was time for her to go solo and front her own project under her own name, eventually hooking up with backing band The Groovelets.

Marta Ren and The Groovelets’ debut effort Stop Look Listen was released to critical praise earlier this year and has received airplay from BBC Radio 6’s Craig Charles, Radio France’s Francis Viel. Adding to a growing international profile Acid Jazz Records’ Eddie Piller has also championed Ren and her Groovelets.

Stop Look Listen’s third single “So Long” is a viscerally emotional, furious, sensual, barn-burning track in which Ren’s soulful and aching wailing with the tight and soulful Groovelets who emphasize the ache and fury in Ren’s vocals with warm, explosive blasts of horns, shimmering bluesy, guitar chords and a propulsive backbeat with a decided psychedelic-leaning. And much like fellow Record Kicks Records labelmates Hannah Williams and the Affirmations, Ren and her Groovelets are set to take over the world, as they pair a powerhouse vocalist with a backing band that can seriously compete with the world famous Dap Kings — while in the case of Marta Ren and the Groovelets’ “So Long” thematically and sonically nods at Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made For Walking” and James Bond soundtracks.

Filmed and directed by Marco Olivera, the recently released music video manages heavily nod at Quentin Tarantino films as Ren is superimposed over black and white stock footage of cities and city traffic at night, 40s big bands and other footage, which further emphasizes the retro feel and sound.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstay Sofi de la Torre Returns with Some Slow-Burning Synth Pop

de la Torre has been rather prolific releasing two EPs That Isn’t You and Mess, both of which critically applauded and received attention across the blogosphere; in fact, at one point Mess steadily climbed the the Hype Machine charts and was featured in Spotify’s Weekend Buzz playlist. Earlier this year, I wrote about “Sit Down” which may have arguably been the Spanish-born, Berlin-based pop artist’s boldest, feistiest song she had released to date while nodding at the work of M.I.A. Interestingly, de la Torre’s latest single “Flex Your Way Out” is a slow-burning and radio-friendly track in which de la Torre’s ethereal yet sultry vocals are paired with moody and sparse production comprised of swirling electronics, twinkling keys, and stuttering, tweeter and woofer rocking beats. Pop artist Blackbear contributes a verse to a song that focuses on a relationship between two difficult and damaged people, who can’t quite figure out how to make it work — or if they should make it work.

The recently released music video continues de la Torre’s reputation for pairing her slickly produced pop with slick music videos — and in this case, the visuals feature de la Torre driving around her gorgeous birthplace of Las Palmas in the Canary Islands.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Sweetly Wistful Sounds and Visuals of Up-and-Coming Indie Act Family Friends

Splitting their time between London, UK and Melbourne, Australia and comprised of sibling duo Rebecca and Tom Fitzsimons, indie pop act Family Friends have received attention across the UK and Australia for a breezy, buoyant and hazy guitar pop paired with infectious hooks and a summery feel. And the duo’s latest single “Look the Other Way” will further cement the duo’s burgeoning reputation for buoyant and hazy guitar pop with an underlying sweet, wistfulness while gently nodding at early 80s New Wave.

Directed by Will Farrell and featuring animation from Charlie Pelling, the video as the sibling duo explains is a “tiny colourful story, featuring the lovesick offspring of national treasure Mr. Blobby” that “tries to get inside the heart of what it is to make a friend in the faceless urban jungle of today.” And as a result, the video further emphasizes the sweetness of the song while giving it a subtle swoon.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstay Ronika Returns with a Sultry, New Single Paired with Kaleidoscopic Visuals

Nottingham-born, London-based electronic music producer, electronic music artist, remixer, DJ and vocalist Ronika over the past two years or so has added herself to this site’s growing list of mainstay artists across a wild variety of genres and styles. Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over that period of time, you may recall that the Nottingham-born, London-based producer, artist, remixer, DJ and vocalist first acme to international attention with the release of the Selectadisc EP, an effort which paid tribute to the beloved record store where she would buy albums. And unsurprisingly, the album was praised for a create-digging aesthetic as the overall sound possessed elements of disco, hip-hop, classic house, R&B and soul.

Since Selectadisc Ronika’s sound has evolved with subsequent singles sounding as though they could have been inspired by Chaka Khan’s I Feel For You and other 80s synth-based R&B and contemporary electro pop; however, “Step to My Beat” managed to sound indebted to 80s Freestyle, as the song was a bit of a tongue-in-cheek come on/call to get on the dance floor and fucking dance already! The London-based producer, artist, DJ, remixer and vocalist’s sophomore effort Lose My Cool is slated for a January 20, 2017 release and the album reportedly finds her expanding upon both her sound and her material’s lyrical content. “Dissolve,” the album’s slow-burning fist single may arguably be the sultriest single Ronika has released to date as Ronika pairs her sensual, jazz and R&B-infused vocals with enormous tweeter and woofer rocking beats, swirling electronics, with twinkling and undulating synths. Lyrically, the song possesses an uncannily frank view of relationships — in this case, the song focuses on desire but in a relationship that’s dysfunctional yet strangely thrilling.

The recently released music video employs the use of kaleidoscopic imagery, which adds a subtly psychedelic feel to the proceedings.

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Video by William Ruben Helms

Lyric Video: Port Townshend, WA’s Solvents Release a Politically Charged Anthem for the Holiday Season

During this shortened workweek at my day job, several coworkers had mentioned how they were feeling deeply unsettled and anxious about being around family members and associates who had voted for Donald Trump — and knowing that by their family’s support and votes, that their family actually seemed to hate them and everything they represented. Comprised of husband and wife duo Jarrod Paul Bramson and Emily Maddon, the Port Townsend, WA-based duo Solvents quickly wrote their latest single “Song For President Trump (I’m Gonna Fight)” as a way to inspire as many folks as possible to pick up an instrument, to write poetry, blog posts, take to the streets or open up a conversation, and that most important to put your feelings out there on how repugnant and frightening a Donald Trump administration is and will be for so many. If you have some asshole “family” to deal with this weekend, know that The Joy of Violent Movement is by your side and let this song be the theme song of your entire holiday season as you tell people to go fuck themselves.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays The Veldt Return with Sensual and Moody Visuals for “In A Quiet Room”

Now, earlier this year the newly reformed The Veldt released the first batch of new material in almost 20 years with the release of The Shocking Fuzz of Your Electric Fur: The Drake Equation Mixtape an effort which revealed a subtle meshing of the original The Veldt sound with that of Apollo Heights — and the result is a sound that pairs towering and shimmering guitar chords, tweeter and woofer rocking beats and Danny Chavis’ soulful yet ethereal crooning as you would have heard on the swooning “Sanctified” and their sultry yet moody latest single “In A Quiet Room.” And as those two singles and the tour supporting their EP revealed, the band’s sound manages to make a vital and important connection between The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Cocteau Twins, The Verve, Fishbone, Marvin Gaye, Prince and TV on the Radio among others.

Directed by Toshi Kaneiwa, the recently released music video possesses a painterly quality as the gorgeously shot black and white video features a nude woman brooding and posing in a room. And with each shot, you can almost picture an unseen photographer or painter creating a moody portrait.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Early Rock and Blues Sounds of Hamilton, Ontario’s Terra Lightfoot

Lightfoot’s sophomore effort Every Time My Mind Runs Wild was released earlier this year through Sonic Unyon Records and as you’ll hear from the album’s bluesy and early rock sounding latest single “All Alone,” the material explodes with a visceral, heartfelt urgency –and that shouldn’t be surprising as thematically the album focuses on the universal (and classic) themes of love, lust, loneliness and temptation; but perhaps more importantly, the album reveals a singer/songwriter, who has grown exponentially. As the Canadian singer/songwriter notes in press notes, she spent time refining, revising and experimenting with her songwriting approach and listening to tons of vintage pop and rock albums from where she picked up on and mastered old-school techniques and concepts — i.e., tonic chords and middle eights — while crafting tighter hooks. Sonically speaking “All Alone” is reminiscent of a bluesy and muscular version of Patsy Cline’s “Crazy” and “Walkin’ After Midnight,”complete with the same heartache at its core paired with Lightfoot’s effortlessly soulful and bluesy powerhouse vocal range. Every single time I’ve heard the single I’ve been blown away by Lightfoot’s vocals and by the ache and resolve they express — frequently within the turn of a phrase.

The recently released music video employs a rather simple concept. Shot while Lightfoot was on tour in the UK, the video features the Canadian singer/songwriter wandering around the Scottish highlands with her guitar, singing the song. A beautiful voice paired with some of the most beautiful scenery you can come across — that works. As the Hamilton, ON-based singer songwriter says about the video “We visited a hidden beach, a cemetery, a bog full of petrified wood, a castle, and finally a dreamy waterfall . . . The Scottish highlands will always hold a piece of my heart and I’m so glad we were able to capture that sense of awe on film.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Corbu on Baeble’s NEXT Sessions

With the release of two critically applauded EPs, We Are Sound and Everything You Imagine is Real, the New York-based trio Corbu, comprised of Johnathan Graves (guitar, synths and vocals), Amanda Scott (vocals, synths) and Todd Hoellerman (drums), have received praise from the likes of several major media outlets including NYLON, Stereogum, The Guardian, NME and others for a sound that’s not only heavily influenced by the Warp Records roster, sci-fi imagery, psychedelia and their own dreams but also draws from the likes of Moonbabies, M83, Washed Out, Yes, and others as their swooning and shimmering take on dream pop and synth pop possesses a cinematic quality. 2016 has been breakthrough year for the band as they released their gorgeous, attention-grabbing full-length debut Crayon Soul earlier this year — and from album singles “Battles,” and “Better Better Off,”and a national tour that included the trio’s first festival set at this year’s Austin City Limits, the band is looking forward to an even bigger 2017.

The folks at Baeble recently invited the members of Corbu to participate in the website’s Baeble NEXT Session series, which features a band of interest performing several songs at the Baeble offices down at the Industrial City complex in Sunset Park, Brooklyn along with an interview. The live footage features the band performing “Neon Hallway,” “Prism,” and “Battles” off Crayon Soul and from the footage, you should get a sense of how their live sound hews very closely to their immersive and lush recorded sound. And in the band’s full-ranging interview, the band talks about their unexpectedly big year, which featured their first national tour and their first festival set, how their music videos and other visuals tie into their aesthetic, how they wanted to make a full album in the veins of Radiohead’s In Rainbows and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Mood, how the album’s mixer helped create a lush, nuanced sound, the album’s overarching themes and more. (This is another one where the embed works a little funny, so click on the link and it’ll drive you to a full-page embed window — and enjoy!)

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Orkesta Mendoza Returns with a Playfully Psychedelic Take on Cumbia

Now, as you may remember “Caramelos,” featuring Salvador Duran was the first single off the collective’s recently released album ¡Vamos A Guarachar!, and unsurprisingly the single managed to capture the act’s signature, genre mashing style –enormous tweeter and woofer rocking beats and synths, organ, twangy pedal steel guitar, a bit of mariachi, a bit of mambo, a bit of cumbia, a bit of flamenco, a bit of this and a bit of that are employed in a stomping dance floor-friendly song that manages to be familiar and alien and mischievously difficult to pigeonhole. And much like the work of a newer JOVM mainstay like El Dusty, this particular track should remind listeners and readers that arguably some of the most sonically inventive club banging music is coming from those who grew up in close proximity to the American-Mexican border.

The album’s latest single “Cumbia Volcadora” is a collaboration with renowned Mexican electronic music pioneer Camilo Lara is a swaggering, riotous and subtly modern take on the classic cumbia sound that kind of nods at Rob Base’s and DJ E-Z Rock’s “It Takes Two” thanks to a series of distorted vocal samples, El-Dusty’s “Cumbia Anthem” but with a psychedelic flair — and paired with a band playing one of the funkiest and tightest grooves I’ve heard in recent memory.

As for the recently released video is a wild visual collage of styles including animation, black and white footage of dancer dancing to the song, people wandering around and purchasing goods at a local market and of the band playing but superimposed with cartoon drawn masks, as well as homages to old movie posters and record art. And in some way it emphasizes the psychedelic nature of the song.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Lee Fields and The Expressions Perform The Funky and Stomping “Make The World” on “CBS News This Morning”

Fields’ fourth effort with his backing band The Expressions Special Night was released earlier this month through through Big Crown Records and the album’s latest single “Make The World” is a stomping, danceable as hell, early 70s James Brown-indebted bit of soulful funk with a powerful and positive message that says we need to start getting our acts together, and uniting towards one purpose — getting things right or else we’ll be marching blindly towards our self-destruction. As Fields explained in press notes “The world was designed to last indefinitely. And we’re the only living species on Earth who can alter that process. I’m hoping that song has a chain reaction, helps somebody put into action whatever contribution they can to change what the world is going through.” I think we all need to take heed of what these old-timers are saying and make every effort to change our world for the better. Fields and The Expressions were recently on CBS News This Morning last Saturday to perform a couple of songs off the album, which included this live footage of “Make The World,” which should give you a taste of what their live set is like — and trust me, you’ll be shaking your ass. (Just as a warning, click on link, it’ll feed you to a separate page in which the video will appear as a full-screen embed. I haven’t figured a good way to fix that yet — but you know, first world problems, I guess.)

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstay Tobacco Returns with Another Abrasive Yet Anthemic Bit of Electro Pop with Surreal Visuals

Sweatbox Dynasty, the long-awaited follow-up to Ultima II Massage was released earlier this year and you may remember that I wrote about Sweatbox Dynasty’s first two singles “Gods In Heat,” and “Human Om” and while furthering his burgeoning reputation for scuzzy and abrasive electronic music; however, just underneath the murky surface of both singles, there’s a breezy and dreamy melodicism that adds a strange sense of calm, as well as a darkly mischievous sense of humor. And the album’s third and latest single “Dimensional Hum” continues on a similar vein as the album’s preceding singles as a gorgeously, twinkling synth melody floats over layers of buzzing and grinding synths while vocals fed through vocoders and distortion slash and burn through some of the muck and grime.

Adding to the grimy, almost low-budget feel of the song, the recently released music video follows an escaped prisoner as he skareboards to freedom with a cheap, Halloween-themed wig as a disguise.