Eoin Glaister reunites with Glass Animals with his first video for the band since 2017 - and takes their band's fans down a complex a complex conspiracy rabbit hole courtesy of YouTuber TinFoilPat.The video is for The Other Side of Paradise, originally released on the How To Be A Human Being album and now revived to celebrate the seventh anniversary of the album - which also featured Pork Soda and Agnes, which have Glaister-directed videos. It features TinFoilPat as a superfan of the band, revealing to his Youtube community about the rumour that lead singer Dave Bayley has been replaced by a clone (or clones). And then follows his mission to uncover 'the truth'.The band were not available to feature in the music video, so Glaister has employed various techniques to build his narrative. Firstly he chose to lean on archive footage from their iconic concert at Red Rocks, and construct a narrative arc that starts with the moment Dave sang “my thunder shook him down” in perfect sync with real-life thunder. Then he sourced further on-stage clips, TikTok cutaways, generative AI, choreography and a mouse-and-cat dynamic, to create a trail of clues for TinFoilPat to uncover.The music video is also sprinkled with subtle Glass Animals fandom trivia and even features real-life moments like TinFoilPat infiltrating the Universal Music London office or calling up the front desk to accuse them of “being in” on the hoax.It felt like a full circle moment, creating promos for the album again.Glaister says that the fact the band were unavailable for the shoot prompted the clone idea. “I'd been watching TikToks with my sisters and was really taken with all the fanfare and conspiracy theories surrounding Avril Lavigne and Britney Spears and I love how ropey all of that evidence is," he explains. "They were vehicles to kick start thinking for this project. [And] the narrative that was constructed with the archive footage means that I could blend facts and fiction in a silly way, which I’m really into.“This is the third job I've done for Glass Animals, which means I've earned some trust with them; it’s useful for running with a really, really bizarre idea like this one. It felt like a full circle moment, creating promos for the album again.”

Dexter Navy presents how Sampha is touched with a special kind of magic in the video for Only.The acclaimed singer-songwriter begins bending reality when he studies a book titled LAHAI - the name of his forthcoming, long-awaited second album - and then ponders his reflection. When he ventures into the outside world he finds himself capable of all kinds of otherworldly powers, sometimes struggling to control them.A number of magical moments arrive in an understated fashion - which seems a perfectly pitched visual metaphor for Sampha's talent. And it makes it more impressive with every viewing.

Meji Alabi and Leigh-Anne celebrate Nigeria's rich culture in the pulsating video for My Love, featuring Ayra Starr. Set against the vibrant backdrop of Lagos, Alabi's video for the ex-Little Mix star weaves elements of local fashion, dance, and the country's stunning landscapes into the narrative. The video features local actors and dancers, offering viewers a glimpse into the authenticity and diversity of Nigerian talent, creating a visual experience that perfectly complements the joyous essence of the song. It's a real tour de force, interweaving thrilling performance vignettes and energetic choreography at a truly ambitious scale - and great cinemagraphy from Alabi's regular collaborator Stefan Yap.It's quite a statement for the artist now stepping out as a solo performer - and demonstrating that she can really dance - working with a director reaching greater heights than ever before.

Denisha Anderson teams up with Purple Disco Machine, Duke Dumont and Nothing But Thieves for cinematic collab Something On My Mind, to create a Pulp Fiction-like narrative within an intriguing time loop structure. For the video, Anderson was inspired by Maya Deren's Meshes Of The Afternoon, and wanted to create a fantasy romance, using a time loop pattern of confusion and lust. With each loop, the storyline unfolds as the lead protagonists go on a whirlwind trip joyriding in a Porsche and robbing diners.It's a big and very successful leap into bigger concepts for Denisha Anderson, who navigates a hybrid narrative / performance promo with flair, cleverly interweaving the storyline with enigmatic shots of the artists - Tino Piontek aka Purple Disco Machine, and Noting But Thieves tied up in a basement. "It couldn’t have gone any better, despite it being the first time I had no contact with the artists prior to filming," explains Anderson."Day 1 was a remote shoot with our team filming Purple Disco Machine in Berlin. He was an absolute gent to work with whilst being tied up and placed in the back of a boot with myself and my DOP directing him via a laptop from London. "On Day 2 we shot Nothing but Thieves in person, and again it was such a pleasurable experience. The whole band had great energy and Connor (the lead singer) was up for anything and everything I threw at him."For this narrative video, I got for the first time to choose professional actors which was a luxury for me. I needed people who were confident, comfortable and convincing for the roles I had written. I had an amazing casting director who managed to get around 130 to audition for our lead roles; it was a long day of tape watching, but to our joy we knew we had found our protagonists in Bonina and Seamus. And after our rehearsal day, I felt excited and confident that they were going to deliver and they went above and beyond."As a director you have memorable moments on set and for this one it was the end of Day 2 which was Hot Rod Diner. I know it sounds cheesy but I thought to myself: 'Sh*t the bed I’m really living my dreams'.”

Directing duo rubberband. tap into a notion of mortality for US soulman Omar Apollo's super-visceral promo for Ice Slippin.The video is a dazzling multi-format video, featuring a wide variety of footage, from live-action performance through to vintage animation and home-video snapshots. And at the core is the fully committed performance of a Apollo - and its surely no coincidence that he exudes physical beauty like the modern version of his namesake Greek God.It's a tour de force of creativity, and has a poignant, lingering feel that doesn't quite let up after viewing. A masterclass of music video creativity, anchored by an emotive performance and inspired production techniques. “This collaboration with Omar was in pursuit of expanding the final millisecond of one’s life," explain rubberband. "In this case, Omar spoke about the moment of his near fatal accident on the way to come out to his family on the black iced roads of Indiana."We wanted to make a film that was both literal in its visualizations of physical, corporeal death and rebirth through medical imaging and non-traditional image making technology and abstract in its representation of the internal recreation of his consciousness.We wanted the video to [reflect] the many different physical pieces of what it means to be a human...We utilized EEGs, ECGs, neuronal activity simulation, heart ultrasound, brain MRI, volumetric capture, motion capture, audio spectrography, thermal imaging, hand cut emulsion transitions, archival video, CGI, print and scanned 2D animation, and standard 35mm to capture Omar."We wanted the video to be an object that reflected the many different physical pieces of what it means to be a human and what it would take, in the realm of magical realism, to rebuild a human soul.”

A pack of unruly kids give Soft Play a proper pasting in Thomas Davis' riotous promo for Punk's Dead.The comeback for the duo - known as Slaves until last year - sees the pair as bouncy castle salesman, setting up shop in a nondescript industrial location for the day.Things soon descend into chaos as the customers - a bunch of kids - start to grapple and beat down the pair, leading to a rather whimsical fever dream... starring Robbie Williams in the clouds. Yes, really. It's all rather brilliant. Plenty of daft charm and channelled aggression, with fine performances by the band and the kids (and Robbie) elevated by a distinctively gritty and raw aesthetic, for a track that satirises the backward thinking in Brexit Britain. It's a proper banger.And on this evidence, Punk is alive and well...

Following his cinematic video for Gasoline, Adrian Villagomez reunites with genre-bending producer Apashe (aka John de Buck) for a new, wonderfully imaginative and nailbiting visual, that utterly reflects the name of the track.The visual for Revenge Of The Orchestra features Apashe sitting in a smoke-filled room, surrounded by the broken remains of a brass orchestra before the instruments come to life, congeal together and transform into a series of creatures - and finally a huge, terrifying monster.Then the chase is on... and an unlikely yet pulsating action sequence develops, executed with terrific visual flair. Will Apashe pay for his dismissive behaviour towards his old orchestra? His fate is observed throughout by the God-like presence of Magugu - the Nigerian singer who guest vocals on the track - who appears to be directing the action. As well as Villagomez demonstrating another string to his directing bow, incorporating live action with 3D animation with consummate skill, a lot of credit goes to VFX supervisor and 3D artist Josué Zabeau for this achievement. He, Villagomez and John De Buck worked together on developing the concept. The outcome is a genuine thrill.

Stefano Ottaviano directs a marvellously cinematic road trip promo for DJ Shadow, filmed in Uzbekistan. The video for Ozone Scraper - the first release from Shadow's latest album - is the story of a man who commits to leaving his home village and explore the land beyond his valley - on the cherished motorcycle, passed down from his father. The bike is old and temperamental, making the journey anything but straightforward, but as he traverses unfamiliar terrain, it all becomes worth it in the end. Ultimately the traveller reaches a state of nirvana, represented by an unforeseen change to another medium. Up to that point, every frame composed by Ottaviano and shot by DoP Andres Arochi is stunning. Boasting breathtaking landscapes and a quietly inspirational character arc, this is a wonderful video which feels like a true adventure - in the spirit of DJ Shadow's new musical direction.