Get the Promonews daily round up
Get the Promonews daily round up
Skepta storms back with a state-of-the-nation critique and a video by Aidan Zamiri - shot by Jake Gabbay - that brilliantly captures the sense of turmoil in the track.[imgtoken data:1][imgtoken data:2]
Promonews - 23rd Sept 2026
Jake Duncan directs a thought-provoking and highly personal promo for Belfast-based singer-songwriter Joshua Burnside. The video for It's Not Going To Be Okay is a character study of a middle aged man - played by Duncan's father - living an isolated existence in the countryside, taking us through his daily routines, captured in cinematic scenes and lo-fi cutaways. And this intimate portrait through everyday moments also offers hints at a troubled past. [imgtoken data:1]"When (my Dad) was younger he trained as an actor, but through various forms of self-sabotage, opportunities were repeatedly disrupted," explains Duncan. "The film looks at some of the song’s broader themes through the intimacy of one person’s life: regret, resilience, isolation and the possibility of change."He spent some time in Bosnia at an addiction retreat and eight years in India, where he converted to Hinduism. He then returned home and converted an old horsebox that he’s been living in for the past thirteen years. He now works as a taxi driver, a livelihood that has become increasingly difficult to sustain amid the rising cost of living and declining hourly earnings.[imgtoken data:2]"Rather than trying to match the song’s scale, I wanted to locate its themes within one life. I made the project largely alone over three separate trips, directing, shooting and editing. I cast an actor to play his daughter in one short scene, but much of what appears in the video comes directly from his everyday life. Some sequences are entirely documentary, while others are slightly dramatised."The process has been extremely cathartic for both of us. For most of my life we lived in separate countries, and I only really began building a relationship with him as an adult. I’m glad that we were able to make this together and that such an incredible piece of songwriting gave me the impetus to explore his life, and our relationship, through the film."
Rob Ulitski - 22nd Sept 2026
Troye Sivan dons the chain mail in this latest romp from Gordon von Steiner, reimagining the age of chivalry with a courtly nod to The Princess Bride.The video for Party is, to be expected, another very stylish collab between Troye and von Steiner. A brilliantly effective battle scene it develops continuously into a mini-movie, with plenty of sumptiously-presented eyecandy in a great location - shot by Maximilian Pittner and graded by Jules Weilman at Studio RM.And there's an intro of considerable tongue-in-cheek gravitas from the great Sir Ian McKellan. So what more could you possibly want?[imgtoken data:1]
Promonews - 21st Sept 2026
Joy Crookes' throws herself into a relationship, for better and for worse, in an impressive step into a full-blown narrative video by directing duo Ethan & Tom.In the video for Painkiller, Ethan & Tom put an engagingly fresh spin on the story of a faltering love affair. That is partly down to the structure, but mainly due to how good Joy Crookes is in the role, and her chemistry with her leading man.Shot across Chicago, the film follows Joy through the city as the scales tip - from a happy start through to her waning confidence in the relationship, incorporating performance with the fastmoving narrative and then including Denzel Curry's rap on a karaoke screen. [imgtoken data:1]Joy's brief for the video was specific: the relationship should read as good at the start, and the illusion should come apart as the song does, so by the end the audience has watched a man's charm curdle. Ethan & Tom hold to that arc while keeping the tone light. The song has a tongue-in-cheek quality about someone who keeps being forgiven despite themselves, and the video carries that – it is a sad song shot with a sense of irreverence, fun, and abandon.Part of the success of the video is the casting of Joy's leading man. After a conventional search failed to produce worthy leading-man candidates, Partizan producer Danny Herman street-cast Matt Whipps at The Wormhole Coffee Shop in Chicago shortly before the shoot. His unrehearsed naturalism against Joy's performance lets the relationship's slow collapse register as observed rather than acted.Ultimately this is a confident step-up by Ethan & Tom into narrative territory. It moves between two textures – the immediacy of Chicago and the degraded warmth of tape – without losing its thread. With an excellent cut by editor Liv Ay, it reads as a breakup told in glimpses; funny where it needs to be, and honest about how long it takes to see what was in front of you.
Promonews - 16th Sept 2026
Much-touted Irish-Cornish band Girl In The Year Above's very catchy tune gets a smart performance video by Dylan Friese-Greene, where singer Jennifer's tattoos come magically to life.The video for meme-friendly Wet Paint is as warm and inviting as the song, the band playing in a sun-drenched apartment. The winning device are the animations that replicate Jennifer's performance and the key message of the song: 'wet paint... don't touch.' "We had a few naysayers about the animated tattoos," reveals Friese-Greene. "But that only spurred us on to see if it were possible."I'm grateful to all the crew and band limbs that were donated for the experiment!"
David Knight - 25th Sept 2026
New York-based filmmaker Chloé Desaulles has directed a highly distinctive video for Arlo Parks, using experimental techniques to place Arlo in a unique version of the dancefloor.In the video for Get Go, Desaulles has employed custom-programmed software that distorts recorded reality, blurring motion, color and architecture. The environment becomes an ambient, moving painting, stretching of time and light, depicting the feeling of being on the dancefloor and looking from the outside in.Arlo threads both in and out of the crowd, as participant and observer, blending with the colors and pixels of the digital space. The singer-songwriter has commented that the direction, editing and custom graphics “perfectly encapsulate the sense of melancholy euphoria at the center of the record."She adds: "It's about the dancefloor as a means of healing, understanding yourself and discovering your relationship to love."
Promonews - 25th Sept 2026
Music Video Preservation Society is returning to the Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle for a unique night of thrilling audiovisual entertainment on Friday, October 16th.Following its debut show at the Tyneside in May, the event that brings the most iconic and inventive music videos from the past five decades to the big screen, will be focussed almost entirely on videos that were created for the albums nominated for this year’s Mercury Prize.Twelve albums are nominated for the 2026 Mercury Prize, to be announced in Newcastle on Oct 22nd. At this special MVPS show - one the Mercury Fringe events preceding the award ceremony - host David Knight will present the best videos and other visual material that accompanied those albums on their release.There will be lots of marvellous videos made for those Mercury-nominated albums by Dave, Florence + The Machine, JADE, Knats, Kojey Radical, Olivia Dean, Paul McCartney, RAYE, Suede, and more. There will be the stories behind the making of those videos - and special guests involved in their making.There will also be time to show one or two of the best videos from previous Mercury Prize winners. It's a unique, one-off show, only at the Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle on October 16th.Tickets on sale now at the Tyneside Cinema website.
Promonews - 25th Sept 2026
Christina Leander directs an AI-generated promo for psych-rock band Sun Dial.The ten-minute narrative film combines two tracks from Sun Dial's 2016 album Made In The Machine.Unfolding across three interconnected timelines - 1950, 1958 and 1974 - we follow Hugo, who has had a lifelong obsession with the sun, along with flashes of images he's never been able to understand.Surreal and mysterious, the AI visuals add an uncanny layer to the concept, and though its process and presentation will split viewers, it feels more considered than many AI videos out there at the moment.
Rob Ulitski - 25th Sept 2026
Singer-songwriter Laurel returns ahead of the release of her third album, with a playful promo for the title track directed by Abigail Wilson. The video for Crying On The Tennis Court is a nostalgia-washed dive into first love, heartbreak and the friendships that get you through it. Set in a British private school, the film blends VHS and digital footage to capture the chaos of being sixteen.All the 'schoolkids' in the video are clearly older than that, which contributes to the distinctive atmosphere created by Wilson - also aided by a magnificent country house location - flipping between Laurel's genuine emotion and some absurd events occuring around her. it's a standout visual with plenty of fun moments throughout - and a very welcome return to Abigail Wilson to music videos, with her first since Left Right Forward for Stone in 2023.
Rob Ulitski - 24th Sept 2026
In a year of big K-Pop and J-Pop blockbusters, the new one for LISA, directed by Bang Jae Yeob and released earlier this month, is arguably the biggest of all.As with the Henry Scholfield-directed video for the BLACKPINK singer's solo breakthrough Rockstar two years ago, the video was filmed in Bangkok, in LISA's home country Thailand. And it looks like the whole city was brought to a halt for the making of SaWaDiKa: the scale and ambition is massive and the execution is stunning. For this kind of thing, it has to be close to being the very best in class.
David Knight - 24th Sept 2026
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