Adam Smith directs the second instalment in his collaboration with TOMORA - the new project from The Chemical Brothers' Tom Rowlands and Norwegian singer Aurora - and creates a visual as minimal, direct and haunting as the track.If its predecessor Ring The Alarm feels all of a piece with more recent Chemical Brothers output - with a video by Smith that feels like an extension of the body of work he creates with Marcus Lyall for their live shows - then Come Closer harks back to the Nineties, the time of the early Chems and their contemporaries. The video reflects this with the simple technique of training the camera on Aurora as she addresses the camera - which is, almost imperceptably, moving closer. A light constantly moves creating ever-changing shadows on Aurora's face, heightening the mood. A cresendo arrives, where she is caught in an intense, flickering strobe.This is a showcase for the singer and its gripping. Aurora gives a memorable performance, her personality quietly radiates to us. Mesmerizing stuff.

Will Kindrick reunites with Alexis Taylor to direct a clever and cool lo-fi visual for the Hot Chip frontman's latest solo outing.The video for Out Of Phase was shot entirely on an iPhone, through time-lapsing escalators, warehouses full of singing mannequins, winding drives down Mulholland Drive, and emotional relationships faintly peeking through the digital chaos.The trippy, lo-fi aesthetic works perfectly here, creating an ever-shifting, abstract clash of performance and uncanny vibes. It's a video that leans into its playful concept with tongue-in-cheek awareness. The result is equal parts fun and unsettling.

Riff Raff has announced the addition to their roster of Ehsan, the London-based director whose larger-than-life comedic style has graced work for the likes of BBC, Nike, Google and Coca-Cola, and music videos for comedian Munya Chawawa's rap character Unknown P.With work including Sports Direct's Football Fever featuring Ian Wright, and Google's Speed Challenge featuring Busta Rhymes, Lil Yachty and Lando Norris, Ehsan's films are full of well-known figures in colourful, comedic settings. His defined by a bold, high-energy visual language full of humour and heart, underpinned by a deep commitment to culture, inclusivity and authentic representation. Born and raised in North London by hardworking South Asian parents, Ehsan’s work reflects the vibrant mix of grassroots cultures of his background. His filmmaking started at university while studying graphic design and his student films earned recognition (Tank Magazine, Smalls Award) that led him to direct his first branded pieces, stylized fashion films created alongside A-list photographers. This led to Ehsan heading up the video arm of JN Group, where he was commissioned to direct fashion films such as Burberry, YSL, and River Island. His commercial career gained momentum with a playful ‘SPOT the Difference' film for Louis Vuitton x Kusama, followed by a Vertu commercial that won a Young Director Award, opening the door to high-profile automotive campaigns for BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar, and Lexus.Ehsan has increasingly focused his lens on stories rooted in culture and community. Collaborating with brands such as the NFL, Nike, Pringles, and the Premier League, he has continued to showcase his distinctive visual language, using humour and heart to give voice to the voiceless without taking itself too seriously. His mission extends beyond the screen, championing mentorship, public speaking, and charitable partnerships to open doors for others.That same ethos drives his ongoing narrative projects and collaborations with talents like Munya Chawawa, spanning music videos, a Channel 4 pilot, and the upcoming short Peanut Head, a celebration of colorful characters, life’s odd little ironies, and, above all, the joy of creating something meaningful by making people smile.Upon joining Riff Raff, Ehsan said: “It’s an honour to be so warmly welcomed into the home of some of the best talent on the planet. Riff Raff’s been my production company crush ever since I started directing *blushes every time the RR group chat lights up <3* Unapologetic, subversive, and slightly unruly... Culture-first; completely my type! Buzzing to see what trouble we get into together...”Joint Managing Partner Jane Tredget adds: “We’re beyond excited to welcome Ehsan to the family. A director with a seriously distinctive visual voice, he brings together culture, craft and heart in everything he makes. Whether he’s behind the camera or behind the decks, Ehsan has an incredible instinct for rhythm, storytelling and connection... and it shows in his work. On top of being a wildly talented director, he’s an all-round lovely human being. We can’t wait to see what we make together.”• Watch Ehsan's showreel at Riff Raff here

Pablo Dunkerly directs an atmospheric short dance film, set to Colle's track Winter Garden, bringing the extraordinary into an everyday space.With dancer Scarlet Finnan moving lithely through an empty house, then attaching to a pole in the house, then joined by another dancer, Against The Skin unravels in a sensual fever dream of strange perspectives and striking movement.It's an intriguing piece - shot on Kodak 16mm 500T/7219 and TriX Black & White Reversal - featuring DoP Sam E. H. Hooper's sharp eye for composition and lighting and eventually embracing surrealism as the dancers merge in a blur on the pole. Dunkerly says: "Straining with the contours of enclosure, identity dissolves into motion, pressing against the walls, against the self, against the skin."

Mika heads back to his own backyard, the endlessly atmospheric Dungeness, in Oliver Jennings wonderfully quirky promo for Excuses For Love. The promo follows Mika on a strange journey, onto a small gauge steam railway and highlighting the odd assortment of people in this unique corner of England. When Mika journeys through this rainswept world it all makes sense - he's at home with its eccentricity as everybody else. Even in a cold, wet, grey January. Guest starring the Bournemouth Youth Marching Band, its a textural, offbeat visual anchored by the singer's charismatic performance and a host of fun visual moments. Unquestionably the latest campaign marks out a different Mika - less flamboyant perhaps, but he is a natural video performer, twisting the conventional world to his viewpoint. And this is a standout entry in MIKA's comeback video run.

A video that was inspired by a comment on the couch of The Graham Norton Show on TV, can also lay claim to be the most thoroughly entertaining Taylor Swift video for a considerable time.The seeds of the video are indeed almost certainly unique. Taylor Swift appeared on the BBC's top chatshow at the time of the release of new album Diary Of A Showgirl last October - together with actors Dromhall Gleeson, Cillian Murphy, Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith, and singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi. And all her fellow guests on the show are in the video - including Norton.But spurred by a comment by Gleeson at the end of the show, its appropriate that he's the important casting decision that the tireless multi-tasking superstar made here. In the nominally 1980s-set comedy he and Taylor are everyday nerds, fixated on objects who do not love them back - until 'Opalite' magically brings them together. Taylor Swift has written on Instagram: "When we were all talking during the broadcast, Domhnall made a light hearted joke about wanting to be in one of my music videos. I was instantly struck with an *idea*."And so a week later, he received an email script I'd written for the Opalite video, where he was playing the starring role. I had this thought that it would be wild if all of our fellow guests on the Graham Norton show that night, including Graham himself, could be a part of it too."Like all of her recent videos, the biggest pop star in the world is the director of this one. It's definitely one of her best efforts. The Opalite device - a spray that answers your dreams - is a bit heavy-handed, but the casting of Dromhall Gleeson as her love interest is a real winner. They have chemistry - and the various cameos of the rest of the Norton guests is undoubtedly a nice touch.And Taylor seals the deal at the end with a lovely dance with Dromhall in coordinated tracksuits on stage at The Mildmay Club in Stoke Newington. Their unimpressed audience looks like it was cast from longest serving members of this active working men's club. Hand-picked by Taylor herself? Well, she does everything else...