Production Manager

Samia Ahmed

The ninth and final episode from the Gorillaz' Song Machine series, and arguably Jamie Hewlett and co-directors Tim MCourt and Max Taylor have saved the best to last.If finding Elton John in cartoon form in Episode 7 was a surprise - how about his namesake Leee getting top billing as an angry sea monster, laying waste to a precious piece of Gorillaz history?The video for The Lost Chord is undoubtedly the most spectacular of the nine videos for the Song Machine album, but it is also in keeping with the rest of the series, particularly in exploring the increasing vulnerability of the previously devilish Murdoc. He has definitely met his match here, with the former frontman of 80s pop-soul outfit Imagination playing a chained Neptune-like creature who invades the band's poignant return&nbsp;to a now-desolate Plastic Beach with a momentous temper tantrum.&nbsp;This has been a brilliant series. As a body of work its as as good as anything in the Gorillaz canon. It's a real achievement by a consistent team of animators who have worked throughout the series. And the comic genius of Jamie Hewlett is still a bit underrated.&nbsp;&nbsp;

United Kingdom

Jamie Hewlett

Tim McCourt

Max Taylor

Eva Dahlqvist

The Line

Lisa A. Smith

Venla Linna

Lewis Crossfield

Time Based Arts

Natalie Steiner

Tom Kelly

Luke Goodrich

Max Halstead

Toby Goodyear

Benjy Kirkman

Jim Agnew

William Pope

Catherine Ladd

Natasha Lawes

Bethan Adams Stringer

Bernie Varela

Soul

Rock

Gorillaz ft Leee John 'The Lost Chord' (Ep. 9) by Jamie Hewlett, Tim McCourt and Max Taylor

Gorillaz - The Lost Chord ft. Leee John (Episode Nine)

Episode Seven of Gorillaz' ongoing Song Machine heralds their most famous and surprising collaborator yet in the (animated) form of Sir Elton, in a piano-playing duet with 2D, while a confused Murdoc chases the eponymous Pink Phantom.&nbsp;Like everything else in the Song Machine series it's fab, but just a little bit more fluffy and romantic, and funny, than anything else. And further confirmation of the genius of Jamie Hewlett, ably abetted by Tim McCourt and Max Taylor of The Line.&nbsp;It's almost as good as Elton's rendition of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCLagU-dr9A&amp;t=1s" target="_blank">"I'm Dill Danding" (sic)</a> during lockdown. But frankly, nothing is as good as that.

Gorillaz ft Elton John & 6LACK 'The Pink Phantom' by Jamie Hewlett, Tim McCourt, Max Taylor

Gorillaz - The Pink Phantom ft. Elton John & 6LACK (Episode Seven)

Back in the studio, killing&nbsp;time...

Hip Hop

Gorillaz ft. ScHoolboy Q 'PAC-MAN' (Ep. 5) by Jamie Hewlett

Gorillaz - PAC-MAN ft. ScHoolboy Q (Episode Five)

The latest 'episode' of Gorillaz's new project Song Machine keeps things simple. A series of headshots starting with guest artist Octavian, continuing with the familiar foursome, over mirrored POV car footage&nbsp;proves Jamie Hewlett's oft-repeated principle that less is more.&nbsp;Released during the Black Lives Matter protests following the death&nbsp;of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the video finishes with a quote from the great African-American writer James Baldwin: "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced. It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have."

Laurence Moss

Gorillaz ft Octavian 'Friday The 13th' (Ep. 4) by Jamie Hewlett, Tim McCourt & Max Taylor

Gorillaz – Friday 13th ft. Octavian (Episode Four)

Sophia + Robert's epic six-part series for Askjell culminates in a whirlwind romance in Half Empty But Happy.&nbsp;Starting where we left off in <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2019/10/31/askjell-first-goodbye-sophia-robert/61609" target="_blank">The First Goodbye</a>, female lead Tin thrashes in the pool, captured in lo-fi underwater shots, before we see her in an apartment, being filmed by her love interest. Her wings are gone, perhaps suggesting that she isn't in such a rush to get away. She has found love, and everything in the first minute or so leads us to believe that this is an equal and complete romance.&nbsp;Through unusual, wide-angle shots, we see various displays of affection and the couple clowning around in different costumes, having the time of their life. As the story progresses, however, cracks start to appear. As Tin revisits the beach, she starts to obsess over the rocks, the location, the air. The male character walks into the pool where we last saw Tin, and starts to shiver erratically as he smokes a cigarette. He isn't accustomed to this life, and the cracks are starting to show.&nbsp;Slumped outside on a graffiti-covered wall, the couple's faces are stained with&nbsp;makeup around their eyes and face, a huge contrast to their natural and bare beauty at the beginning. Experimenting with different colours, different costumes and different personalities, the pair can't seem to make things fit.&nbsp;The ending depicts them both with their heads in the air, breathing deeply as a light burns white onto the screen. We aren't given a tight ending in a neat package, it's very much open to interpretation, which is the beauty of the Sophia + Robert's&nbsp;work. A&nbsp;stunning way&nbsp;to complete an ambitious project.&nbsp;

Norway

Sophia + Robert

Gwilym Lewis-Brooke

Ersan Beskardes

Odelay Films

Rosie Owen

Frankin Dow

Peter Bishop

Verity May Lane

Iulia-a Roman

Marisa Garner Associates

Andreea Gruioniu

Instrumental

Askjell 'Half Empty But Happy' by Sophia + Robert

Askjell-'Half-Empty-But-Happy'-by-Sophia-+-Robert

In the fourth video collaboration from Askjell's EP, Sophia + Robert continue their twisted avant-garde fantasy.&nbsp;In the opening, we see a girl with wings slumped on the floor by a&nbsp;pool. Her mind is elsewhere, as she stares right past the camera towards the sky. The narrative is very much a mystery-&nbsp;we are given short flashbacks of a time where the girl was in the water, thrashing around joyously, without the new additions on her back. But this isn't a narrative in the traditional sense, it very much veers&nbsp;into experimental territory, and viewers are not given many clues.&nbsp;The wings immediately conjure up religious or spiritual themes, such as a fallen angel or a dead girl who is revisiting the place she died. But just as easily, we could attribute this to her being an alien or a different kind of creature altogether. Sophia + Robert thrive with concepts that keep viewers on their toes and guessing, and this video is very much in the same vein.&nbsp;Beautifully cold and crisp, the muted colour palettes complement the stark minimalism of the piece, and a top-notch performance from actress Tin makes this a&nbsp;wonderfully offbeat and effective promo.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Franklin Dow

Juan Minotta

Lucy Cooper

Mats Rivenes

Marissa Garner Associates

Island Records

Askjell 'The First Goodbye' by Sophia + Robert

Askjell-'The-First-Goodbye'-by-Sophia-+-Robert

Sophia+Robert's ambitious&nbsp;six part project for Norwegian electronic artist Askjell moves into more familiar pop video territory with the arrival of his fellow Norwegian, the ever-ethereal Aurora.&nbsp;The beautiful yet angst-ridden young couple who have driven <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2019/06/26/askjell-requiem-sophia-robert/59465" target="_blank">this series of visuals</a> accompanying Askjell's Autumn Autumn EP take a back seat to Aurora's elfin charisma.&nbsp;Once again in the Askjell project the video is distinguished by a fine edit by Sophia+Robert that goes into full overdrive at the end. It's off the hook, and&nbsp;it's all the better for it.

Andrea Gruioniu

April Wernham

Charlie Drinkwater

Alternative

Askjell ft Aurora 'To Be Loved' by Sophia+Robert

Askjell-'To-Be-Loved-Ft.-Aurora'-by-Sophia-+-Robert

Askjell serenades a young couple on his piano as they search&nbsp;for each other in a dark, damp void, in Part III of Sophia + Robert's bold&nbsp;visual album.The six part project, which began earlier this year, is shaping up to be refreshingly avant-garde and a thing of real beauty. There are shades of T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land in its autumnal mood, crumbling world and fragmented, episodic character.With a young couple acting as guides, we navigate through a shifting landscape&nbsp;of cliffs, pools, bedrooms, sand and shingle. Each instalment has a specific mood and visual character. <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2019/04/01/askjell-autumn-autumn-sophia-robert/58059">Autumn, Autumn</a> was a frenetic, anxious introduction to Askjell’s world. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U7vnbJfTSE">To Be Loved</a> was a moment in transition. A daring static shot of the couple waiting for sunrise, clocking in at just under 4 minutes.Requiem&nbsp;has a distinctly somber, contemplative tone. It also also has a more simple, classical sensibility. Part of this will be the influence&nbsp;of Askjell. This is the Norwegian musician's first appearance in the project, and his piano is a soothing&nbsp;authorial voice. But this is also down to Franklin Dow’s operatic photography, which is somehow intimate and sweepingly grand all at once.

Tin, Kit’s

Classical

Classical, Alternative, Electronica

Classical Crossover

Askjell 'Requiem' by Sophia + Robert

Askjell-'Requiem'-by-Sophia-+-Robert

Sophia + Robert go back to their art school roots with this avant garde treatment for intriguing Norwegian electro-pop producer/artist Askjell.Their video for the instrumental Autumn Autumn is an epic montage of moments from the angst-ridden amour fou of two beautiful young things. It jumps kinetically from beach to pool to bedroom, evoking a striking sense of sexy doom. Well worth a watch.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Sam Baker

Collins Casting

Jake Whitehouse

Askjell 'Autumn, Autumn' by Sophia + Robert

Askjell-'Autumn,-Autumn'-by-Sophia-+-Robert

Gwil Doe directs the video that celebrates the return of Darkside Crew veteran President T, with the album Stranger Returns, and the track Birthday Cake. Time to throw a party.

Samia Ahmed

Production Manager

Videos featuring Samia Ahmed

2020 (4)

2019 (5)

2018 (1)

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