Production Company

FRIEND

It's been a while coming, but the video for the title track of Dave's current album has arrived - and the Edem Wornoo-directed visual has been worth the wait.The video for The Boy Who Played The Harp had to do justice to the quality of the track - in particular, the words. Warnoo's video does exactly that, honouring the artist and his subject with direct references to his reflections. But also doing so with a very creative approach and a very successful visual device.The video takes us into different times and places, with Dave as the focus in each scene. These are recreations of the places that Dave mentions in the song: London in the Blitz, Robben Island, the prison of Nelson Mandela in 1960s, the Titanic. Plus modern London, represented by a grafitti-stained tube train, and also a&nbsp;dreamscape - where Dave ponders life next to a&nbsp;giant skull.[imgtoken data:1]Within these scenarios Dave is present,&nbsp;in character, but always the same.&nbsp;Warnoo match cuts between each of these scenes, so&nbsp;whatever the time period, we remain mesmerically fixed on Dave. He becomes like a time-traveller, and also a philosopher. Its very effective in presenting Dave's thoughts and ideas, with visual flair.&nbsp;And even by the gifted London rapper's standards, the lyrics of TBWPTH&nbsp;are outstanding: a reflection on the meaning of his life, no less, within the greater scope of history. He asks some serious questions of himself, and us.&nbsp;"It’d be an understatement to say that The Boy Who Played The Harp&nbsp;is a powerful song," says Wornoo. "I think Dave put it best when he said that it’s one of the most important tracks he’s ever made and maybe ever will.&nbsp;It’s obviously a huge honour that [he] entrusted me with the task of creating the visuals. It was very important to me that this video’s primary function was to be in service to the song.[imgtoken data:2]"I very quickly settled on a collection of cinematic vignettes that place Dave at the centre of pivotal moments in human history as he questions what he might’ve done if he was actually there. It was also important to me that we captured the majority of this video in-camera."And the video is the result of some oldschool film production craft, with fantastic production design by David Hamilton - and complicated motion control set-ups.&nbsp;"David Hamilton and his team absolutely smashed it out of the park with a collection of beautifully intricate set builds that made me feel like I was hurtling through time and space as I walked across the studio each day. We built upon these sets with a few moments of considered CGI the majority of which were crafted by our Lead VFX Artist Harry Davidson."We transported Dave from scene to scene using match cuts. These were made possible through one very long, very complicated motion control move that allowed us to replicate the exact same movement across multiple sets. Other than the fact that match cuts are super satisfying to see (but definitely not satisfying to shoot lol), they also help with getting the idea across that we could just as easily have been dealt a different hand in life if we were born in another generation. At the snap of a finger, we could find ourselves on the sinking Titanic or as a prisoner of war.[imgtoken data:3]"Our editor Amy Dang was on set with us, piecing each scene together as we went. She was absolutely the woman for the job given how patient and tech savvy she is. She created all of these wonderful grids that helped align all of our shots, and, when a transition worked in the edit, it was the most joyous feeling ever. We’d be shooting things and honestly just crossing our fingers and toes in the hopes that they’d slot together and thankfully they absolutely did with the help of a little movie magic here and there."This was the first time that I was able to work with Jaime Ackroyd whose phenomenal portfolio speaks for itself. We’d been trying to connect on a few projects but this is the first time that the stars aligned and I was probably most surprised with how nice of a guy he was. With a body of work as brilliant as his, he’d be excused if he was a little bit of a dick but he wasn’t dickish at all, he was actually a very chill breh. Anyway, I digress… The way in which he chose to light the video helped us establish a painterly quality to each scene that really helped in making the entire film feel timeless despite what time period we were depicting.Shout outs to our colourist Tim Smith for accentuating these lighting choices and also introducing some gritty texture to the video that helped in tying everything together. This is definitely turning into a bit of an extended credit reel but who cares, it takes a village as they say![imgtoken data:4]The cherry on top of all the bells and whistles were our hair, make up and costumes that our Costume Designer Cara Hayward and Make Up Designer Ayopo Abiri pulled together. From beaten down uniforms to bruised and bloodied prosthetics, these little details go a long way towards making the video feel authentic, alive and engaging."In that vein, I also want to say a huge thank you to every single cast and crew member that I haven’t yet mentioned. What you all brought to this video, big or small, is invaluable and I’m forever grateful to you for it. My final thanks would be to Friend London and my production team Andre Wooz, Liz Adeleye and Scarlet Green as well as my execs Mel Giles, Luke Jacobs and Saam Farahmand all of whom poured into this project in so many different ways."I am more proud of this project than I could ever put into words. Given the state of the world right now, this is more than just entertainment, it’s a call to action. I would hope that everyone who has the chance to watch this can take a moment to look themselves in the mirror and ask what they’re doing about the situations in front of them. The answer to that question is what will define our legacy on this planet."

United Kingdom

Edem Wornoo

Andre Wooz

Mel Giles

Liz Adeleye

Scarlet Green

Jaime Ackroyd

David Hamilton

Cara Hayward

Ayopo Abiri

Amy Dang

Tim Smith

Luke Jacobs

Saam Farahmand

Avenues

Hip Hop

Grime

Dave 'The Boy Who Played The Harp' by Edem Wornoo

Dave - The Boy Who Played the Harp

<h3>We spoke to FRIEND director Noel Paul about his extraordinary new video for singer-songwriter Mitski, hearing about&nbsp;the idea at its heart, the pros and cons of working at a&nbsp;remarkable location&nbsp;and the big influence of experimental filmmaker Guy Maddin on it's breathless narrative&nbsp;style.&nbsp;BTS photos by Melanie Safi.</h3>Although he has been largely occupied on a feature film in the past year or so, Noel Paul has managed to crowbar a couple of significant music video projects into his busy schedule. And both of them have contributed to a very distinctive storytelling technique that Paul has been working on for a while, where the action all takes place much more quickly than normal.In his UKMVA-winning video for Black Midi's Sugar/Tsu, the accelerated pace of the video is a contributing factor in achieving a suitable level of weirdness that goes hand-in-hand with the eccentric nature of the band. Then in his video for&nbsp;Geese's Taxes, which came out last summer, it's central to the plot, as the band's show at a small club explodes into chaos.And now, there is Paul's video for Mitski's Where My Phone?, where the technique is applied in its most ambitious form yet. It's fair to say that it transforms an existing text, and in doing so, creates&nbsp;something unique and hugely powerful.&nbsp;[vidtoken data:0]The base material is a gripping gothic tale, in which Mitski takes on a very surprising role - the guardian of a younger girl, desperate to prevent her charge to leave the picturesque house&nbsp;where they live, paranoid about her connecting with any of the stream of strange visitors who descend upon the house.Under Noel Paul's direction, this is delivered at a crazily zany speed, rendering it strange and cartoonish. It's both highly original and utterly gripping - with a fantastic performance by Mitski in the lead role, leading to a jolting denouement.It's undoubtedly one of the best videos of the year so far.&nbsp;So we got in touch with Noel Paul to find out how it happened.<h3>PROMONEWS: How did this project start for you? What kind of brief did you get from Team Mitski?</h3>NOEL PAUL: It started with a text message from Mitski’s manager that just said “Noel.” Then like 20 minutes went by with no follow up message and my curiosity was piqued. That’s how the real pros convince you to pitch.Mitski’s prompt mentioned <a href="https://archive.org/details/wehavealwayslive00jack" target="_blank">Shirley Jackson’s novel&nbsp;We Have Always Lived In The Castle</a>&nbsp;as a vibe reference, and asked for an absurd video involving Mitski repeatedly facing obstacles of some kind.<blockquote>Mitski can express all kinds of things with her body language. That emboldened me to ask her for an over-the-top performance.&nbsp;</blockquote><h3>The idea for the video seems a long way from the song title. Did the theme of the song influence the concept, or did it come from another place entirely?</h3>NP: Well, the song seems to be about losing more than your phone. Losing yourself, or wanting to lose yourself, or wanting to get away from yourself and from the world. From everything in you and around you that’s hijacking your attention. That’s how it resonated with me, anyhow.So a barrage of exaggerated gestures felt appropriate. The premise is lifted from the Shirley Jackson novel Mitski mentioned in her brief, with Mitski cast as a protective paranoiac struggling to keep a younger woman confined in a gothic house.[imgtoken data:1]Above; Mitski (centre) and Noel Paul (right) on the Where's My Phone? video shoot in upstate New York, November 2025<h3>She’s experienced in the medium and seems comfortable expressing emotion on screen. Was that a factor in the idea, and the choice of story?</h3>NP: Mitski gives fearless performances and she’s a gifted mover. She can fight, jump, learn choreography, change her pace, and express all kinds of things with her body language. That certainly emboldened me to ask her for such an over the top performance.&nbsp;PN: Did your previous collaboration with Mitski have an influence or a bearing on this one?&nbsp;NP: In our previous video,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WW7cuAm-7Y" target="_blank">Bug Like an Angel</a>, Mitski was the fixed point around which the action swirled. She barely moves. She gives a quiet, inscrutable performance. The tension and power comes from her restraint, her stillness, and then the one moment of eye contact when she looks up. In Where’s My Phone? she gets to do pretty much the opposite of all that.<h3>PN: What were the biggest challenges in pre-production?&nbsp;</h3>NP: The biggest challenge in prepro was finding a location. We needed a Victorian gothic revival house with a magical quality, it had to have a yard that set it apart from nearby houses, and it had to be inside the 25-mile radius “production zone” around NYC. That’s a tall order.[imgtoken data:2]Above: "My producer Lucy&nbsp;and I just went and knocked on doors... Eventually we came to this little green house that looks like it’s from a fairy tale."I follow some photographers who document neighbourhoods in the five boroughs. By trawling through their photos I made a list of houses that looked interesting, but I had no contact info for any of them. So my producer Lucy and I just went and knocked on doors.&nbsp;The first place we tried turned out to be right next door to an open-air shooting range and the sound of gunfire was extremely oppressive. That didn’t seem like the right vibe for Mitski so we moved on.Eventually we came to this little green house that looks like it’s from a fairy tale. We rang the doorbell and met Edwin, its owner and restorer, who graciously invited us in and showed us around. His home is not only beautiful on the outside, the interior is essentially a museum of period antiques and furnishings. It’s extraordinary.We were very fortunate to be able to shoot the video in such a special place with such a cool host. Edwin has a cameo in the video too: he’s the neighbour holding a rake.[imgtoken data:3]Above: Autumn in New York;&nbsp;Mitski watches on at the Where's My Phone? shoot location&nbsp;<h3>PN: When and where did you shoot the video and how many shoot days? What were the biggest challenges on the shoot?&nbsp;</h3>NP: The shoot was two days in mid-November. I wanted the camera language to have the energy of a moth frantically orbiting and smashing itself around a lightbulb. But the house was cramped and full of precious antiques, so an FPV drone wasn’t possible. And anyways, I think they lack the finesse and personal touch you get with a handheld camera.And we had to work fast. The shotlist was enormous. We did something like 35 setups per day. So a big part of the challenge was just how to let my DoP Ramzi Hibri be a moth without all the footage feeling too homogenous.&nbsp;<blockquote>I wanted...&nbsp;the energy of a moth frantically orbiting and smashing itself around a lightbulb.</blockquote><h3>PN: The storytelling technique in Where’s My Phone is something you’ve explored before, in your videos for Black Midi, Geese, Danny Brown. Where did it originate? How is it evolving? And how do you achieve it in terms of shooting - slower frame rate?</h3>NP: Exactly, the similarity across all those videos is the use of slow frame rates, aka undercranking.I think it originates with an experience I had as an art student many years ago when I got to work on a Guy Maddin film,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVl5Bnj_EO8" target="_blank">The Brand Upon The Brain</a>. It was the first time I was on a film set. Guy was constantly changing framerates, improvising shots, putting vaseline on the lens, often recording sound independently of picture, shouting directions at the cast mid-performance. There was a freedom and playfulness to his approach. It had a tremendous influence on me.[vidtoken data:1]<h3>PN: Mitski gives an amazing performance in the video. What kind of direction did you give her?</h3>NP: We worked hard to constantly shift gears throughout the shoot, both emotionally and physically. Ramzi and our cast needed to change their pace from shot to shot and move through space and emotional states at different speeds. We listened to different music on set to set the vibe, like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKOxwPWTuo0" target="_blank">Stravinsky’s Firebird</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IS2at_MP9GA" target="_blank">Popol Vuh’s soundtrack of&nbsp;Aguirre, The Wrath of God</a>.&nbsp;Because the story is so hyperspeed and Mitski’s role has so much paranoid/protective motivation, there was a danger that her character could seem too one-dimensional. Ramzi, my movement director Monica Mirabile, and my dramaturg Martha West were all very attentive to this, helping to make sure we made space for Mitski’s character to give moments of sorrow, ecstasy, resignation, and serenity amidst all the crashing out. It required a lot of mental and physical dexterity from everyone.[imgtoken data:4]Above: Mitski with co-stars&nbsp;Madison Wada (left) and Miki Orihara on set of the Where's My Phone? video, Paul sitting on the right.&nbsp;&nbsp;The other thing that really helped Mitski give such a great performance was the quality of the rest of the cast, many of whom are gifted dancers and movement practitioners that Monica brought onboard. Madison Wada and Miki Orihara, who play Mitski’s family, are both incredible dancers. So are Tara-Jo Tashna, Kate Williams, Christina Torres, Reed Rushes, Martha West, and Allison Hsu. And Sam Geller, who Mitski murders [in the video], is an Aikido instructor.<h3>PN: What’s next for you?</h3>NP: I’ve recently finished two years of editing and co-producing a feature documentary called&nbsp;<a href="https://www.berlinale.de/en/2026/programme/202604750.html" target="_blank">Bucks Harbor, that's&nbsp;just premiered at the Berlinale</a>. It was my first time editing a feature and it was an enormous undertaking - so much so that the only two videos I directed in the last two years were <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Phh3oVCtzBg" target="_blank">Geese's Taxes</a> and Where’s My Phone. So now I’m starting to look for the next big project. And in the meantime I’m hoping to do more music videos this spring and summer.• Noel Paul is with FRIEND London in the UK for music videos and commercials; he is repped for music videos by Sam Davey at Hurry Sundown. &nbsp;

Noel Paul

Hurry Sundown

Noel Paul on Mitski's Where's My Phone? video: 'A barrage of exaggerated gestures felt appropriate.'

Mitski-'Where's-My-Phone?'-by-Noel-Paul

Black-Midi--'Sugar/tzu'-by-Noel-Paul

Maxim Kelly drops his third and final instalment of a trilogy of videos for Archive.The video for City Walls features&nbsp;an anachronistic, AI-generated montage of events, unravelling across a week.&nbsp;Lingering on symbolism and abstract interpretation, the video focuses on stirring snapshots of death, disease and natural disaster, encapsulated in a UK-adjacent environment. Kelly also maintains a tension between drama and absurdity that has been the hallmark of his previous AI-gen Archive videos for <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2025/09/11/archive-look-us-maxim-kelly/92546" target="_blank">Look At Us</a> and <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2025/11/26/archive-wake-strange-maxim-kelly/93319" target="_blank">Wake Up Strange</a>.It's a thought-provoking piece, representative of what&nbsp;AI is now able to achieve - whether that's a good or bad thing is for viewers to decide.&nbsp;

Maxim Kelly

Sam Davey

John Moule

Vid Price

PIAS

Trim Editing

Archive 'City Walls' by Maxim Kelly

Archive-'City-Walls'-by-Maxim-Kelly

Pedro Takahashi brings&nbsp;Essex&nbsp;club culture to life in this pulsating short video for Jeshi's&nbsp;new song&nbsp;Champagne, featuring Fredwave.Set in a club in Tottenham, we are straight onto a packed dancefloor,&nbsp;full of young people, with Jeshi and Fredwave in the centre. It's breathless and it's bouncy - and it's brief.Leaves you wanting more - but apparently the one minute cut is all we're getting...

Ellie Rimmer

Pedro Takahashi

Abby Rothwell

Matt Edge

Max Conran

Gina Crighton

Danny Zanre

Roisin Byrne

Shee Won Park

Connor Coolbear

Partisan

Select Disks

Electric Theatre Collective

Jeshi ft Fredwave 'Champagne' by Pedro Takahashi

Jeshi ft. Fredwave - Champagne

Eaves Wilder enters a South London pub on a mission to&nbsp;create havoc&nbsp;in Douglas Reddan's action-packed promo for the rising indie artist.Bursting through the doors of the boozer, Eaves is quickly causing mischief, stealing drinks and starting fights - the epitome of a Hurricane Girl.&nbsp;Combining classic cinematography with&nbsp;frantic, mini-DV footage, the pace never&nbsp;flags. And Eaves' antics provoke the peaceful patrons of the pub to also get feisty - while she gleefully looks on.It's a promo with plenty of attitude - and a great Britpop-flavoured track to boot - to burnish Douglas Reddan's growing reputation.[imgtoken data:1][imgtoken data:2]

Flo Webb

Lola Cookman

Leila Moraes

Douglas Reddan

Olivia McLaughlin

Kelly Kerrigan

Jeffrey Celis

Naoise Kettle

Jack Chambers

Bradley Stearn

Alice Howlett

Hannah Isobel Busst

Rebecca Parker Quinn

Cam Sander

Secretly Canadian

Eaves Wilder 'Hurricane Girl' by Douglas Reddan

Eaves-Wilder-'Hurricane-Girl'-by-Douglas-Reddan

Noel Paul turns the longing and introspection at the heart of the first release from Mitski's new album into a remarkable video, both breathlessly zany and undeniably chilling.In the video for Where's My Phone? Paul plays against the relatable aspect&nbsp;of the songtitle by making Mitsky the lead character&nbsp;in a gripping anachronistic&nbsp;ghost story. The setting is very Edgar Allan Poe, a house in rural, autumnal New England, with Mitski as the guardian of her younger sister, paranoid about her connecting with any of the stream of strange visitors who descend upon the house.It's the manner that Paul delivers&nbsp;this story - based upon&nbsp;Shirley Jackson’s novel&nbsp;We Have Always Lived in the Castle - which makes it so special. Following the style of his videos for Black Midi and most recently for Geese, events occur at a relentless, disconcerting speed, as if in a dream.The actions of the performers are heightened to appear virtually cartoonish - or resembling the acting in early cinema - and the camera is feverish, moving like a&nbsp;character in the scenario.&nbsp;Mitski herself gives a ferociously strong and committed performance, as the woman driven to mania (and violence)&nbsp;to protect the younger girl. But as it turns out, with very good reason. As in any ghost story, the proof of its quality is in the ending - and this has a very good one.&nbsp;Noel Paul has been directing videos for well over a decade, originally in the duo That Go and then as solo director. It's tempting to say that this is one of the best he has ever made.[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;[imgtoken data:2]

United States

Charlie Robinson

Monica Mirabile

Lucy Rennick

Gummy Films

Adam Reichardt

Ramzi Hibri

Eliana Roseen

Rome Pettersen

Hom Cameron

Oona Mazelle

Tiffany Stoker

Emily Costantino

Lauren Citera

Belal Hibri

Miled Boulos

Mitski

Dead Oceans

Alternative

Rock

Mitski 'Where's My Phone?' by Noel Paul

Maxim Kelly delivers the next instalment of his creative collaboration with Archive.The AI-generated video for Wake Up Strange is an Americana-infused trip through the surreality of life and excess, presenting a cinematic narrative tinged with a haunting undercurrent. It's&nbsp;Playing into the&nbsp;uncanny valley&nbsp;nature of it all - both highly convincing visually yet also dreamlike and ludicrous -&nbsp;this follows Kelly's video for the eclectic London-based band's Look At Us (also from forthcoming album Glass Minds) and it's another collaboration raising questions about AI and its place in the music video production process.&nbsp;

Archive 'Wake Up Strange' by Maxim Kelly

Archive-'Wake-Up-Strange'-by-Maxim-Kelly

Grajper directs a moonlit, surrealist fantasy for The Last Dinner Party.&nbsp;The video for Count The Ways finds the group in the middle of a model village, performing as a montage of illusory vignettes play out on screen.&nbsp;Imbued with unearthly, liminal vibes, it's a striking concept and one that fits perfectly within the offbeat videography the group has built over the last couple of years.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]<blockquote>Everything is familiar, but [the world] is&nbsp;too small, too artificial, too perfect.</blockquote>"The heart of the song is about love, heartbreak, and the refusal to accept that something beautiful has ended," Grajper explains.&nbsp;"It’s about being trapped in grief, circling around loss, and being unable to move forward."For TLDP, that emotional space feels like being locked in a prison that is invisible yet everywhere, a cage built out of memories and feelings. That’s why the miniature park is such a powerful starting point. It’s a world that is at once charming and eerie. Everything is familiar, but it’s too small, too artificial, too perfect."When we place our heroine in this world she instantly becomes estranged from it: she is either too large for the space, breaking out of it, or she’s wandering through its streets like a ghost who doesn’t belong."

Joe Harrison

Rubina Marchiori

Grajper

Wojciech Czarkowski

Connor Adam

Jake Hunter

Smera Kumar

Rowan Hutchings

Steve Morgan

Mitch Collins

Sam Rawlings

Jem Bradley

Ruby Yu

Kuba Tomaszewicz

Thomas Kumeling

DOMA

Andrzej Lewkowicz

Żenia Bochulia

Indie

The Last Dinner Party 'Count The Ways' by Grajper

Grajper-'Count-The-Ways'-by-Grajper

Bedroom direct an evocative performance promo for Chloe Qisha.&nbsp;The video for So Sad So Hot is a stripped-back, studio-based visual, with Qisha and a team of dancers performing breathless choreography under coruscating lights.&nbsp;Sexy, sweaty and slick, it's another brilliant collaboration between the directors and artist, which will leave viewers waiting for more.&nbsp;Great work.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Sara Farrell

Yasmin Harrison

Amonik Melaco

Rio Allison

Julia Costa

Naomi Weijand

Sam Salter

Lewis Munro

Bedroom

Nahal Ashrafi

Krunal Saadrani

Billy Kendall

Billy French

Owen Diplock

Niels Halle

Grace Jabbari

Freya Paxton

Soren Harrison

Megan Lee

James Taylor

Chloe Qisha 'So Sad So Hot' by Bedroom

Chloe Qisha - So Sad So Hot (Official Video)

London-based production company <a href="https://friendlondon.tv/" target="_blank">FRIEND</a> has announced a new partnership with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/hurrysundown.agents/" target="_blank">Hurry Sundown</a>, the music video representation company founded by award-winning agent Sam Davey.&nbsp;The collaboration marks a new chapter for Friend’s music video division, expanding its reach and creative capabilities through Hurry Sundown’s distinctive approach to championing directors with labels and clients.“We’re absolutely thrilled to be working with Hurry Sundown and Sam Davey,” says&nbsp;Luke Jacobs, founder of FRIEND. “Sam’s vision and commitment to championing unique voices in music video direction aligns perfectly with our ethos at FRIEND. Together, we’re looking forward to creating work that is as inventive as it is impactful.”Sam Davey founded Hurry Sundown earlier this year with a mission to support and elevate exceptional directing talent in the music video space. The company has quickly gained a reputation for nurturing original, visually arresting directors and connecting them with the right artists and audiences.“Having known Luke for many years now, I’ve always been blown away with the quality of work that FRIEND produce," comments Davey.&nbsp;"They have a roster of talent that continually evolves and embraces music videos in the right way, so I’m so chuffed that our visions have aligned and we finally get to work together.” Hurry Sundown will now represent FRIEND’s roster for music videos, offering artists and labels a combined force of creative expertise, production excellence, and industry insight.• Watch FRIEND's music video roster, represented by Hurry Sundown,&nbsp;<a href="https://friendlondon.tv/" target="_blank">here</a>

FRIEND teams up with Hurry Sundown for music videos

Pedro Takahashi explores the idea of staying rooted to a place despite knowing that it is harming you in a&nbsp;conceptual performance video&nbsp;for Shame.&nbsp;Dialling in to the band’s live energy, the video for Quiet Life is anything but. It comprises the band performing in a rundown warehouse, whilst a group of hard hat-wearing intruders burst in with wrecking gear to&nbsp;cause chaos around them.&nbsp;As the camera orbits around the performance, we see snapshots of destruction of the space, with the mob getting ever closer to attacking the band, adding a frantic, breathless energy to the visual.&nbsp;Meanwhile the&nbsp;band barely&nbsp;acknowledge the mayhem around them&nbsp;- a manifestation of the meaning of the song which, according to vocalist Charlie Steen, "is about&nbsp;someone in a shitty relationship."The result is both a mesmerising video from Takahashi, and a more introspective and serious&nbsp;side of Shame than we've seen before.[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;

Fred Qvortrup

Poppy Landen

Arthur Attenborough

post punk

Shame 'Quiet Life' by Pedro Takahashi

shame - Quiet Life (Official Video)

Noel Paul directs a characteristically immersive and offbeat promo for American rock band Geese.The video for Taxes takes place at an intimate gig, with the first minute or so shot on a mobile phone or lo-fi video camera.&nbsp;But then it's all turned on its head, ramping up into a mesmerising fever dream of sped-up dancing, fighting, melting faces - even a spot of cannibalism.It's ferocious, kind of disturbing, all the more intense for being at odds with the laidback pace of the track.&nbsp;A standout visual indeed.NOEL PAUL:"When Cameron sings 'nail me down',&nbsp;everything changes. The format morphs from strictly phone footage to a hodgepodge of textures and frame rates."The action becomes dislocated from documentary reality, instead taking the form of abstract isolated shots of expressions and gestures being repeated endlessly and maniacally by the people in the crowd. It's like we're inside a contemporary version of some medieval painting of the Damned, writhing and carousing in ecstasy and agony as they are herded towards Hell's gaping maw."Our crowd now becomes a vehicle for exploring a cavalcade of human expressions, gestures, and simple actions, boiled down to some kind of fetishized essence by way of filming them in hyperspeed with endlessly repeating manic motion. A simple action repeated over and over again and filmed in this style becomes mesmerizing and absurd and ritualistic."

Saara Untracht-oakner

Leethal Reppin

Jake Crossland

Léa Taillefer

Alexei Topounov

Thomas Cameron

Oona Mozelle

Nina Carelli

Partisan Records

Miramade

Geese 'Taxes' by Noel Paul

Geese-'Taxes'-by-Noel-Paul

Tohé Commaret takes Spanish pop sensation Isabella Lovestory into a fabulous and fraught fever dream in her latest extravagant music video outing.Isabella finds herself in an anonymous office building that becomes an increasingly constricting force on her exuberant personality. Can she break free?It's another impressive addition to Tohé Commaret's body of work in a year that kicked off with a video with Oklou and Bladee and a show at Fondation Pernod Ricard then going on to being shortlisted at Berlinale and Cannes."I made Isabella Lovestory’s music video at a time in my life when I couldn’t stop watching Hitchcock’s films," she says. "They were a real inspiration for me - film noir, puzzle films, labyrinthine stories - all of that fed into the creation of this video.[imgtoken data:1]"I felt it matched her universe perfectly, which is all about vanity, reflection, duplicity, and self-observation. That’s why we used so many mirrors, split shots and reflections. The post-production took us a huge amount of time, and the set design beforehand was just as important."We shot it on 35mm to get closer to that classic cinema feel, but with a slightly futuristic twist: greenish and pinkish tones inspired by Matthew Barney’s films."

Spain

Louise Mekylla Bachir

Fiona Omnes

Tohé Commaret

Surya Daniel

Roman Birenzweigue

Premier Cri

Johann Van Der Voort

Sergei Medvedev

David Camarou

Alexis Petit

Mélanie Bordes

Alexis Governeur

Camille Ostwalt

Lucile

Charlotte Nguyen

Gustavio Koslowski

Nick Vavilov

François Gouret

Maxim Bozhko

Guillaume Rivet

Giant Music

Isabella Lovestory 'Vanity' by Tohé Commaret

Isabella-Lovestory-'Vanity'-by-Tohé-Commaret

New Zealand singer-songwriter BENEE has dropped Off the Rails, a thrashy pop-rock rush of feminine rage just shy of two minutes - and&nbsp;directing duo Bedroom have&nbsp;directed a suitably furious&nbsp;video that attempts to articulate dating in a modern world.&nbsp;“It’s an aggressive, angry, chaotic product of my navigating the current state of the world and channeling my existential dread,” says BENEE of the song. “It’s feminine rage - sick of being pushed around and embracing the chaos.”And she comes across really well in Bedroom's video, representing that position of trying to&nbsp;protect yourself from all the trials and turbulations of life while also being brave enough to be vulnerable.