Zach Joseph directs a "monochromatic meditation on identity" in his promo for young rapper XADI, shot in rural Wales.The video for Black Rock sees XADI wake on a beach, and begin his journey across the surrounding isolated landscape. It presents the artist's rapidfire performance style in this isolated setting of beaches, cliffs, deserted country roads, and it feels unique and introspective in its approach. Enigmatic and brooding, the video boasts a haunting, almost ethereal vibe, which works perfectly with the soundscapes in the track. "Thrown from the bowels of the sea onto a rugged beach lined with cliffs that rise up like great monolithic slabs of rock, XADI awakes; spewing forth salty water before a stream of evolving lyrics; his quest to earn the status as the new 'Black Rock Star’ ahead of him," explains Zach Joseph."Like Sisyphus pushing his rock up the hill, we’re never quite sure when XADI will reach his destination, but as he marches relentlessly onward his lyrics gather momentum and become progressively more impassioned; more intent. That is until the music falls out and XADI stands at the foot of the Black Rock - as if it were the mountain drawing him forth from the sea this whole time."Black Rock is a monochromatic meditation on the quest that one goes on in search of their artistic identity. It’s a story of rebirth. Of a man surrendering himself to the might of nature. For it is the Black Rock that will decide his fate."

Jack Brown directs a psychedelic, dreamy visual for regular collaborators Yussef Dayes and Tom Misch.The animated video for Rust is a spacey journey through hypnotic dreamscapes and performance vibes, with an inspired blend of 3D background and hand-drawn, 2D characters. This is Jack’s third collaboration with Yussef Dayes and Tom Misch following Nightrider and Tidal Wave (taken from the duo’s 2020 album What Kinda Music), this time for Dayes' first solo album.“It felt really special to work with Yussef and Tom again, to make the third instalment of our animation saga and extra special to do it for Yussef’s incredible debut album," Brown says. "I wanted to expand the world of Nightrider and Tidal Wave by bringing it into a 3D space while maintaining the classic 2D feel."This was made possible by the big brain, super-talented Richard Noble who built these landscapes from my silly sketches. Big love to the small crew of dedicated and talented people who worked on this and to Yussef and Tom for consistently making the best sounding music out there."

Toronto-based singer-songwriter Kēynes - aka Keynes Woods - collaborates with longtime creative partner Farai Dube on the high concept, cinematic video for Low Lows & Ceremonies, reflecting upon the beautiful mess of life.Taken from his just released EP Avant Garden, Farai Dube's music video directing debut is a beautifully-crafted rumination about the highs and lows of love lost, in a vibrant, fun but meaningful way. Shot by award-winning Canadian cinematographer Peter Hadfield, the stylish imagery incorporates elements of misdirection through various set-ups involving Kēynes. It employs a very intentional colour palette, match cuts, quick cuts, vignettes, non-linear and meta-narrative, to tell a story drenched in symbolism, where smoke and fire and the use of forced perspective feature prominently. Supported by production from Merchant Productions in Toronto, Wrack at Wieden + Kennedy London, WeAreCovert on VFX and Electric Theatre Collective on the colour grade, this is a very successful showcase for an intriguing new artist: ambitious, absorbing and thoroughly entertaining.

Sometimes all you need is your own muppet to cheer you up - as Aaron Taylor discovers in this charmer by Devon Kuziw.The wonderfully breezy promo for Have A Nice Day features Taylor waking up and struggling to muster much enthusiasm for the day ahead. Luckily, his puppet döppelgänger is on hand - in the bedroom, the shower, over breakfast... - to jolly him along. And in the process, it's the puppet who is assuming vocal duties, and grabbing the spotlight, in the video.Alongside some great art direction and styling, the puppet - which was designed, built and operated by Saskia Martindale - brings a playful edge and a whole lot of fun vibes to the concept.

Candice Lo creates a joyous moment of freedom with Olivia Dean, for the singer's delightful Dive.There's a charming simplicity about this video which strikes a chord with the mood of the song - and makes the most of Olivia Dean as a person and performer. And it looks like it was achieved in just two shots.Firstly, Olivia emerges from a village coffee shop, and conveys her blissful mood directly to the camera as she walks. Then it changes to a wide-open deserted beach. The camera flies free but still engages with Olivia, who now in full pelt, running towards the waves. You sense the joy is real, and that means everything.

Caroline Hajny directs an evocative promo for Danish pop-soul duo AICK. The video for Default invites viewers into a nostalgic Noughties time capsule, exploring carefree youthful attitudes and the limbo between the present and the future. Centred around a road trip to the beach, the video cycles between unabashed excitement and poignant pause, meditating on themes of loneliness and the fear of missing out. Shot in Denmark last summer, the cast features some of the biggest names in the Danish dance scene, taking us along on their euphoric journey.

Myles Whittingham's video for Emeli Sandé finally sees the light of day - over nine years after it was made - and it turns out to be an immensely powerful, must-watch experience.Beginning with the moment that a young man is told by his lover that he is ending the relationship, we witness the aftermath of this traumatic moment in real time. But centred around a brilliant performance by Kazeem Amore, the combination of Whittingham's direction and Sandé's soulful delivery transform this into an existential reflection upon the meaning of life, love, community, faith and mental health.As the main character heads across a busy street, to find solitude in an abandoned building, and heading inexorably for the rooftop, there is still room for interpretation as to his fate. But it is an incredibly moving and poignant piece of work from Whittingham. And as he reveals, he has waited a very long time for this exceptional video to be released. "It’s a funny one - we actually made this nine years ago, in the summer of 2013," he explains. "It was my first music video after leaving film school. I called in so many favours, all the extras are friends or family. And we’ve been sitting on it ever since, as for various reasons it never came out at the time - with me hoping one day it would see the light. "Emeli and I had initial discussions about many issues surrounding societal pressures, mental health, isolation, community and sexuality. Which led to touchpoints that we wanted to hit, with the title being ‘Who Needs The World’ I really wanted to show how someone can feel isolated and alone in the world even amongst its hustle and bustle."I really wanted to show the sense of community and the feeling of being isolated throughout. So decided to open up with the busy community shot seeing our lead having to wear a metaphorical mask to hide his pains, and there’s a beautiful moment where I think the lead actor Kazeem Amore nails that superbly! "I then wanted to allow him to have his isolated time, so wanted the second half of the video to show the juxtaposition between the two. Having him in an isolated environment allowed him to express his emotions in various ways before the culmination at the end - which I wanted to leave up to interpretation."

Rhory Danniells directs a captivating live video for Christy, shot at the Peckham Liberal Club - in which the Scottish soul singer and his band give a storming performance in front of a disinterested audience of local punters. This palpably live rendition of the soulful number In Denial is an striking display of the artist's vocal prowess and charisma. It's a joyful, uplifting song and the energy on stage is electric, so it wouldn't matter if the audience was empty or facing the other way. But their lack of interest in Christy and his excellent musicians - with the exception of one person - is a nicely daft conceit. The video is the first part of a trilogy of live films, and this one is so well executed - with impressive cinematography by Henry Gill and Steadicam work by Jayy Gomez - that it will be interesting to see how Danniels develops the narrative in this wonderfully atmospheric location, as well as hearing more groovy soul from Christy and the band. Will they eventually win over this typically hard-to-please South London crowd?