André Reid-McKinley

Production Company

Somesuch

Rollo Jackson's arrresting visual for Overmono&nbsp;serves as a teaser for the electronica duo's new track Is U? - and their forthcoming debut album Good Lies.Jackson's video for the opening minute of Is U? begins with a aerial shot of a twisting road in the desert, then cuts between a BMW coasting along the road, and a&nbsp;Doberman dog (who also features on the album cover) sprinting&nbsp; towards the camera, creating its own tracks in the dirt.&nbsp;The video may be brief, but it leaves a powerful impression. The enigmatic atmosphere creates&nbsp;plenty of mystery around the new track.&nbsp;

United Kingdom

Rollo Jackson

Ana Castellar

Geras Velikhanyan

Fraser Rigg

Maëva Demurger

Harutyun Gevorgyan

Alexey Komoza

Gevorg Elmasakyan

Gamlet Galstyan

Steve Shaw

Trim Editing

Luke Morrison

Oscar Wendt

XL Recordings

Electric Theatre Collective

Dance

Overmono 'Is U?' by Rollo Jackson

Overmono-'Is-U?'-by-Rollo-Jackson

Nia Archives takes a contemplative walk through late-night London, in the video for So Tell Me...Co-directed by Dan Emmerson and the artist herself, the video intercuts the gentle performance section with a series of slow-shutter vignettes, depicting the complex relationship between a young couple.&nbsp;Showing their lives in separate (yet interconnected) scenes, the video hints at the bond between them, which is confirmed at the end of the video when they detach from their different groups of friends to finally meet up.The bittersweet, romantic&nbsp;concept is beautifully executed, with the frantic cinematography reflecting the contrast of the track - a jungle beat set against melancholic melodies.&nbsp;Wonderful work.&nbsp;

Dan Emmerson

Nia Archives

Rowan Mackintosh King

André Reid

Keaton Williams

Thom Neal

Pete Wade

Jack Ainsworth

Riaz Ahmed

Jake Gerrard

Yusif Al-Karaghouli

Roxanne Farahmand

Jamie Alexandra Judd

Tasnim Nahar

Ben Crook

Harriet Cawley

Tim Smith

No 8 London

Charlie Morris

Alt Jungle

Nia Archives 'So Tell Me…' by Dan Emmerson & Nia Archives

Nia Archives - So Tell Me…

The Weeknd is trapped in an emotional purgatory, in the Cliqua-directed promo for Is There Someone Else.&nbsp;Drenched in 1980s movie influences, the&nbsp;wonderfully cinematic video sees the artist reliving a memory of a time spent with a mysterious love interest, visualised through sultry choreography and an enigmatic, abstract concept.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]Exploring the idea of voyeurism - and taking its stylistic lead from archetypal Eighties fare by Brian DePalma and Adrian Lyne -&nbsp;the use of a masked version of The Weeknd&nbsp;suggests a doppelganger watching from afar, trapped in a loop of paranoia as he stares through a telescope.&nbsp;Diving into surrealist fantasy scenes towards the end, it's another&nbsp;tour de force&nbsp;of creativity, that builds upon the Dawn FM era, with a contemporary film noir-style edge.[imgtoken data:2]&nbsp;

United States

Luke Carr

Espirit Casting

Cliqua

Roisin Audrey Moloney

Michael Garcia

Nick Bupp

Tim Nash

Whitney Jackson

Josh Montes

Greg Karamov

Felipe Larrondo

Vinnie Bredemus

Marc Benacerraf

Erin Murray

Antonio Gomez-pan

Final Cut

Electronic

The Weeknd 'Is There Someone Else?' by Cliqua

The-Weeknd-'Is-There-Someone-Else?'-by-Cliqua

Ned Botwood directs a big-hearted love letter to the West Country, by way of the American West for Metronomy frontman&nbsp;Joseph Mount's wonderful duet with Katy J Pearson for Love Factory.This song is an absolute peach, and the video highlights the special chemistry that is created by bringing fellow west country artist Pearson on board. Botwood channels the visuals from 1960s US TV variety shows, and the legendary&nbsp;performances by Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton and June Carter, blending&nbsp;British and American rural iconography, superimposing Katy and Joseph into sweeping Devon landscapes.Shot with a distinctly American flavour by DP Jamie Harding, the video trades prairie grass for wheat stubble and wide highways for narrow country lanes. The landscapes were captured over a sunset-chasing road trip through the South Hams in Jamie’s van.[imgtoken data:1]Ned, Jamie and editor Kevin Corry worked to recreate a variety of old-school televisual devices. Shooting country vistas to line up with studio performances, then using a combination of back projection, black negative space and lo-fi blending effects to merge them together.Eagle-eyed viewers will also spot a handful of homages to American cult classics, including Paris Texas, My Own Private Idaho and The Night of the Hunter. “What I love about this song is that it just sounds like it’s always been around, like an old standard on the radio," says Botwood.&nbsp;"It made me think of that golden age of country performances on TV in the late ’60s. Those variety hours like Kraft Music Hall and The Porter Wagoner Show.[imgtoken data:2]"Those shows really threw everything at the wall. All those charmingly janky sets and camera effects. Dolly Parton playing her Grammer guitar on a plastic porch, or Loretta Lynn superimposed onto rural Kentucky, or truly weird images like three disembodied Peggy Lee heads trading lyrics in different corners of the screen.“So much country music is about *home*. And if you absorb enough US culture, you can end up with this weird nostalgia for a rural heartland you’ve never actually been to. But it does make sense. When Dolly sings about her ‘Tennessee Mountain Home’, you understand that feeling instinctively, even if you’ve only been as close as the West Country. Katy, Joe and I are all connected to Devon. And sometimes when you’re down there, on the right day and in the right light, it really does look like the American prairie.”“Metronomy and Katy are two of my big indie heroes. So I was very sweaty when the email arrived! But I had the nicest team. Shoutout to Jamie Harding, who took me and his Arriflex sunset-chasing in Devon for two days. And Kevin Corry, who killed it in the edit.”

Joshua Gochez

Athene Xenia Aristocleous

Bo Dubema

Ned Botwood

Lydia Martland

Dog Eat Dog

Natalia Maus

Yan Murawski

Jamie Harding

Pòl Gil

Orlando Morris

Riccardo Angei

Molly Whiteley

Kevin Corry

The Assembly Rooms

Ruth Wardell

Okay Studios

Because Music

Metronomy & Katy J Pearson 'Love Factory' by Ned Botwood

Metronomy & Katy J Pearson's - Love Factory (Official Music Video)

Vincent Haycock's richly atmospheric video for Maxo starts with the LA rapper's appearance on a street corner - and his gradual disappearance.That absorbing VFX-fired sequence precedes a more impressionistic foray into the world of Maxo and guest artist Pink Siifu. As always with Vincent Haycock this is masterfully done, and the black and white cinematography by Guillermo Garza is gorgeous.[imgtoken data:1] &nbsp;

Vincent Haycock

Aguita

Guillermo Garza

Iain Trimble

Terry Watson

Meredith Kurey

Bryan Escareno

Emily Shulmanovich

Zack Ramos-Taylor

Anthony Foster

Taylor Haycraft

Oscar Garcia

Nick Durr

Golden LA

Kevin Gallagher

Robin Roepstorff

Ovi Bogdon

Hip Hop

Maxo ft Pink Siifu '48' by Vincent Haycock

Maxo - 48 ft. Pink Siifu

The cycle of videos for Abel Tesfaye aka The Weeknd's current smash hit album Dawn FM takes a phenomenal turn into extraordinarily imaginative anime, courtesy of creative directors Cliqua and French animation director Jocelyn Charles.Following the Cliqua-directed video for <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2022/04/13/weeknd-out-time-cliqua/75929" target="_blank">Out Of Time</a> - which ends with the singer drugged, in hospital, and having a mask applied to his face - the promo for How Do I Make You Love Me? begins with Tesfaye waking in a hospital bed wearing the mask, as an animated character. What proceeds is a brilliant 2D animation, greatly influenced by the style of Studio Gibli's Hayao Miyazaki - but somewhat darker...This is a brilliant showcase for the marvellous animation style of&nbsp;Jocelyn Charles, who co-directed&nbsp;the&nbsp;video for French artist L'Impératrice&nbsp;that won Best Animation at the UKMVAs last year. This takes her to the next level.

Jocelyn Charles

Felix de Givry

Ugo Bienvenu

Remembers

Alli Maxwell

Josephine Mancini

The Weeknd 'How Do I Make You Love Me?' by Jocelyn Charles

The Weeknd - How Do I Make You Love Me? (Official Music Video)

Trailblazing London jazz outfit Ezra Collective hit the ring in Femi Ladi's joyous video for Victory Dance.Customers of a cornershop receive a mysterious invitation by the shopkeeper, leading them downstairs into the basement and a magical space. Suddenly we are in&nbsp;a big hall, a boxing ring in the middle - not to witness a boxing bout, but the moves of jazz dancer Jay Allen, and a thrilling performance of the individuals of Ezra Collective, and then the group as a whole.[imgtoken data:1]This is the band's first ever music video, reflecting their position at the heart of London's resurgent jazz scene. Femi Ladi achieves a sense of wonder and real occasion by keeping things based around the performances, and top and tailing the piece with the narrative element involving the audience. It really works.&nbsp;"I’m a big fan of the Ezra Collective, I find their music so refreshing and unexpected," says Ladi.&nbsp;"I had a personal experience of hearing the band's music for the first time when I stumbled into a performance of theirs by accident a few years back. I instantly became a fan. So, we went with an Idea that had similar journey of discovery with the band playing a secret gig somewhere quite unexpected."

Femi Ladi

Jake River Parker

Courtney Bennett

Oliver Bingham

Scarlett Gardner

Jay Gomez

Jamie Hitchens

Philips Nortey

Rosie Taylor

Katie South

Jenny Glynn

Jay Allen

Kaz Ove

Yoomin Lee

Chris Anthony

Company 3

Shivam Solanki

Jazz

Ezra Collective 'Victory Dance' by Femi Ladi

Ezra Collective - Victory Dance (Official Video)

Strange goings-on in a bleak, wintry English field, featuring scenes that, frankly, some viewers may find distressing. That's Leo Leigh's memorable music video directing debut&nbsp;for The Smile. So we asked Leo about how it all happened. On-set photography&nbsp;by Ned Botwood.&nbsp;Whether it's his darkly comedic short films such as Mother, or his eye-opening documentaries for Vice like Beautiful Liverpool, Leo Leigh has spent the last few years digging deeper into the strange truth of the English psyche. Now with his video for Free In The Knowledge, from Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood's new side project The Smile, the director - who is now signed to Somesuch - sets his focus upon something darker:&nbsp;a full English psychological breakdown.In his striking debut as a music video director, Leigh introduces us to a ragtag group of characters - hippies, basically, without the positive connotations of counter-culture philosophy, but with much of the negative connotations&nbsp;of cult-like control and self-damaging and neglectful behaviour. And it focusses upon two of the characters going through tough experiences: a couple of very bad trips.[vidtoken data:0]Working with producer Maddy Perkins, DoP Olan Collardy and editor Dave Davis, Leigh has created a rare drama, particularly in a music video,&nbsp;casting a pitiless gaze upon human frailty. And as he explains below, this was the result of an ongoing creative process that included a moment of inspiration while editing the video, sparked by comments from Thom Yorke.<blockquote>Thom's&nbsp;been involved in making amazing music videos... he knows what works.</blockquote>DK: You haven’t made a music video before (as far as I know) so how did you connect with The Smile on this project?LL: It’s weird. I’ve been up for so many music videos over the years, but never managed to get one past the keeper. In the pitching stage on this video, a huge amount of thanks has to go to Maëva Demurger at Somesuch. It’s not always just about a good idea, but how the person sells it to the label.&nbsp;I’ve always been more into the darker, weirder ideas for videos. And so most of the time, in the past, I’m guessing the label got a bit scared of my ideas. Either that, or they just straight up thought my ideas were shit.[imgtoken data:1]Above: The cast of The Smile's Safe In The Knowledge videoDid you have a conversation with Thom Yorke, or a brief to work from (or both), before you submitted your idea for the video?I did have a chat with Thom Yorke, but it was after I submitted my idea. I got a real sense that, even though he has a hand in what the video is, he also respects the director’s ideas and lets them get on with it.It was actually a really good chat. The guy's been involved in making amazing music videos since the early ‘90s, so he knows what works. Even though the idea was mine, it obviously has to serve the music that the band have written. So it's important to listen to his thoughts and what he thinks about the approach.<blockquote>Footage of bad acid trips worked perfectly with the track.</blockquote>What led you to interpret the melodic folk-rock of Free In The Knowledge in such an uncompromising fashion?I’ve been fascinated with people freaking out on LSD for quite a while. It’s a terrifying spectacle. I’ve been the audience and the participant a few times - and it’s hell. There’s this moment in the Maysles Brothers' documentary Gimme Shelter&nbsp;from 1970, where this Hell’s Angels member is having a tough old time on acid. As the Maysles&nbsp;Brothers tend to do, they hold the shot on him as The [Rolling] Stones try their best to play amongst the mayhem. It’s always stuck with me, and so I’ve been trying to get it into something for a while.[imgtoken data:2]Above: Leo Leigh (left) with DoP Olan Collardy on the video shoot for Safe In The KnowledgeI had about half a day to come up with an idea, so I listened to the track about fifty times. I have a load of footage from the ‘60s that I’ve been collecting for some time. I then cut the track to the footage and sent it to the band. I deliberately avoided using any of the hippie, free love bullshit, and focused on the darker, more “lost” feeling of what some of that time was about. The bad acid trips, and the lost faces in a crowd. It worked perfectly with the track.I suppose the track is loosely about what we all went through in the pandemic. At least that's what I got from it. So to see people coming together at that time – with some hope of forthcoming change – kind of made sense to me. It was also key that for me that we avoided any kind of sentimentality too.<blockquote>I wanted the audience to feel like they were watching a bigger story in that four minutes.</blockquote>What we see in the final piece suggests a broader narrative, and we’re probably seeing the aftermath of a (possibly catastrophic) prior event. What led you to focus on this approach? Was this always your intention?To a certain extent, there was always meant to be a wider, bigger feeling to the world. In other words, I wanted the audience to feel like they were watching a bigger story in that four minutes. Our first cut had a lot more of the group in a longer, more drawn-out way. After talking with Thom Yorke, he felt some of the images didn't sit well with his music. He’s so close to that track. It’s super personal to him.[imgtoken data:3]Above: Michael Morrissey (left) with makeup artist Natasha LawesI was on another job when his notes came through. I got on the tube over to Trim [Editing] in Whitechapel to start making some edit changes. On the ride, I started thinking about those two performances and how they could potentially be the main focus of the entire video.The beauty of finding that new idea was that we had all this other really rich footage, and cutting to it in such a subliminal way made it feel like a legitimate memory. The last stage of writing any film or music video is in the edit.Can you give an insight in how you managed to draw out these extraordinary performances from the actors?&nbsp;What sort of preparation did they need to experience before being able to produce such raw emotion on camera?Paul Hilton, who’s stood under the tree, is a phenomenal actor. I’d just worked with him on a film, and knew he would deliver the goods. Unlike the last time we worked together, where we rehearsed for six weeks, we didn't do any rehearsals. We just talked a lot about that raw darkness that comes out when you’re totally lost on a bad trip.[imgtoken data:4]Above: Paraic Morrissey giving his remarkable 'bad trip' performanceOn the day of filming, it was important for him to have his own space, and so I let him wander off to get into that mindset. I didn't actually play the track when we were filming. Instead, I only played very dark,&nbsp;fucked-up stuff from the 1960s. We lined the shot up, and he just went for it.<blockquote>I played The Pretty Things really loud... and [Paraic] just lost his shit.</blockquote>The other main performer is Paraic Morrissey, one half of the directing duo CC Wade (Paraic and Michael Morrissey). Paraic is the character at the beginning being held down, and his brother Michael is the strange character sitting under a tree with the sunlight shining behind him. Paraic’s not an actor and hasn’t really done much acting apart from in CC Wade’s music videos. I’m not sure why, but I just knew they would be good for this.I asked Paraic to get into a very dark place. He sat under a tree for about half an hour or maybe longer before we shot. I didn't ask what he was thinking about, but he had definitely worked himself up into a dark frame of mind. I played Well Of Destiny&nbsp;by The Pretty Things really fucking loud on playback, and he just lost his shit.[imgtoken data:5]Above: The cast and crew prepare for the burning effigy sceneWe eventually see glimpses of a tumultuous ceremony conducted by the cult leader. What were your particular cinematic references for the film?We didn't look at any fictional films. We only looked at documentary footage from the time.When and where did you shoot the video? What were the biggest challenges on the shoot day?It was shot on a farm somewhere in Kent. To be honest, it wasn't that difficult to shoot. Maddy Perkins, who produced the video, did such a good job that we didn't have much to worry about.<blockquote>The last stage of writing any film or music video is in the edit.</blockquote>The final video is so powerful and uncompromising. It’s an undeniably hard watch to witness such convincing displays of suffering. Was the final piece the result of overcoming objections along the way, during the editing process?As I've previously said, for me, all films (and in this case, a music video) are made in the edit. What we discovered was that focusing on those two main performances made the entire experience quite enjoyable and interesting.[imgtoken data:6]Above: On-set photographer Ned Botwood's double-exposure of the effigy scene with&nbsp;Olan Collardy (centre) and Leo Leigh&nbsp;filming. "I wound my camera a little too enthusiastically when they set fire to the effigy, and something went wrong," says Ned of his double exposed nighttime shots. "I suppose they accidentally capture the spirit of the time."Has the experience of making the video been enjoyable, a bit of a culture shock – or both?Because of how normal, encouraging and supportive Thom Yorke and [video commissioner] Scott Wright at XL were during the making of this, it didn't feel like a culture shock. Just lots of fun.• Leo Leigh is represented by Somesuch for music videos and commercials in the UK. Watch more of his work&nbsp;<a href="https://somesuch.co/directors/leoleigh" target="_blank">here</a>.

Leo Leigh

Leo Leigh on The Smile's Free In The Knowledge: "People freaking out on LSD is a terrifying spectacle."

The-Smile-'Free-In-The-Knowledge'-by-Leo-Leigh-

A story of going 'out out' - in all its glory, ecstasy, and some agony - superbly told by Femi Ladi.

Lane Casting

Joseph J Goldman

Matt Bohun

Emily Mulkerrins

Saskia Whinney

Chase & Status 'Mixed Emotions' by Femi Ladi 

Chase-&-Status-'Mixed-Emotions'-by-Femi-Ladi-

The Weeknd sings karaoke with Squid Game star&nbsp;HoYeon Jung, in Cliqua's transcendent promo for Out Of Time.&nbsp;When watching the video, viewers may be a little disconcerted at just how&nbsp;normal things seem to be for the most part. The artist gets ready, meets Jung at a bar and they sing karaoke together in a happy, playful set of vignettes. This is a develioping love story - with a distinct nod to Lost In Translation.&nbsp;Of course, things are not quite how they initially appear. The environment breaks down into a surreal, haunting otherworld. A supply of medical equipment is&nbsp;hidden behind the walls of the building, and what appears to be The Weeknd's hand - in its aged form, from previous video <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2022/01/24/weeknd-gasoline-matilda-finn/74575">Gasoline</a> - reaches through the void...&nbsp;It all ends with a cameo from Jim Carrey looking through a distorted medical instrument, reprising his role on the Weeknd's new album Dawn FM, as a DJ on the eponymous radio station.To be continued, no doubt...&nbsp;

Xiaolong Liu

Miranda Lorenz

Kenneth Arnold Taylor

Nick Rondeau

Katy Lester

Cabin Edit

Foreign Xchange

Tom Poole

Ari Robbins

Colin MacDonnell

Mike Marino, Prosthetic Renaissance

The Weeknd 'Out of Time' by Cliqua 

The Weeknd - Out of Time (Official Video)

Duncan Loudon imagines the life of a stuntman in his remarkable video for DJ/producer Tourist.Loudon takes us on to a film set, and into the world of stuntman-supreme Andy Bennett, as he goes about his daily business - and at the same time, also childminds his young daughter. And it all leads up to one of the most terrifyingly impressive of all movie stunts, when Bennett is doused in petrol and set alight, and then becomes a walking man on fire.Loudon establishes a mesmeric tone with a combination of documentary and impressionistic teasing beyond the frame of reality. Bennett also plays the part of the leading actor that he is doing stunts for. The division between the two is not easily distinguishable.But then there is of course the setpiece stunt. It is unmistakeably&nbsp;authentic,&nbsp;and Loudon takes us right into this feat of technique and sheer courage - and makes it poetic.&nbsp;Brilliantly achieved.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;[imgtoken data:2]

Bon Walsh

Duncan Loudon

Ayo Davis

Greg Kreszowiec

Krzysztof Trojnar

Tash Tan

Barney Batchelor

Thomas Davis (costume designer)

Melanie Szabo

Connor Coolbear

Kole Onis

Georgina Fillmore

Andy Bennett

Marc Cass

Digital Orchard

Tourist 'Your Love' by Duncan Loudon

Tourist-'Your-Love'-by-Duncan-Loudon

BRTHR direct a breathtaking, hypnotic promo for Grimes' Shinigami Eyes, as she takes another bold leap forward in mythological-infused imagery.&nbsp;In the unmistakably&nbsp;sensory and surreal style that directing duo of Alex Lee and Kyle Wightman are renowned, the video is a relentless clash of visual effects, live action performance and slick transitions - and features&nbsp;Grimes in the middle of a kaleidoscopic otherworld.[imgtoken data:1]Swordfights and archery make an appearance - continuing the thread of previous video <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2022/01/13/grimes-player-games-anton-tammi/74539" target="_blank">Player of Games</a>&nbsp;- and Korean pop royalty&nbsp;Jennie Kim of BLACKPINK even gets a cameo in one performance setup.It's an absolutely mesmerising to watch, and the artist otherwise known as Claire Boucher&nbsp;is clearly&nbsp;a brilliant&nbsp;match for BRTHR's&nbsp;visual aesthetic.&nbsp;She's come a long way since that video - now nearly ten years ago - for <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2012/03/09/grimes-oblivion-emily-kai-bock/12178" target="_blank">Oblivion</a>.

Somesuch

Production Company

Featured Work