Dora Paphides directs an alluring promo for new pop artist Fred Roberts - her first since signing to KODE. With a cinematic, darkly romantic aesthetic, the video sees Roberts perform in an empty theatre, switching between dazzling on-stage setups and enigmatic backstage shots. It's a fast-paced, dramatic video, anchored by the artist's stirring performance and on-point cinematography by Owain E. Morgan.

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as a superfan of the band, revealing to his Youtube community about the rumour that lead singer Dave Bayley has been replaced by a clone (or clones).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.”

Up and coming artist Bambina agrees agrees to try out some VR fantasies with her boyfriend - resulting in some eyebrow-raising moments - in Erin Murray's video for Anyway U Want It.Co-starring Whitmer Thomas as Bambina's love interest, Murray's video has the couple navigating the complications of virtual sex with a real sense of fun. Boasting nostalgic, PS1 videogame style graphics in the VR world - care of Peter Puskas - the video has an anachronistic, strangely otherworldly feel, which adds to the comedy and ridiculousness of it all.And then there's the back-breaking positions and a purple alien mistress... "This collaboration with Bambina felt like two secret freaks coming together to revel in our freakiness," says Erin Murray. "I’m honoured that Bambina trusted me to create this video for her."I think VR sex is the perfect realm to explore the dissonance between reality and fantasy that exists in couple dynamics, and I knew that Pete Puskas’s perfectly glitchy animations and Whitmer Thomas’s physical comedy would milk the humor out of this concept. I hope people laugh and think “WTF” when they see this video."Bambina adds that the song is a Anyway U Want It “is a fun and positive take on breaking free from the shackles of a failing love" which celebrates the feeling of rejection in a light-hearted and celebratory spirit."Erin’s vision, which initially terrified me, allowed me to fully surrender to the vulnerable heights two lovers are willing to go to in order to make things work (or not)!"

Michael Upson directs a delightfully quirky promo for the indie band called Home Counties, for a song called Bethnal Green. The studio-based video for Bethnal Green opens with an elderly woman sitting in front of a textural backdrop, placing a pair of headphones on her head. From there, the music quite literally comes to life, as the band appears on the other side of the studio, performing in a series of dazzling vignettes - in which the impassive headphones-wearing lady also becomes involved Experimenting with playful camerawork and edit effects, the video feels as eccentric as the track (about gentrification in the dead trendy East End, of course) - packing in choreography, performance and even a mini disco into a short runtime. And it's bloody brilliant.

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'.”