Eyesdown (Machinedrum Remix)
A line in Resident Advisor‘s recent review of Mux Mool’s Planet High School (on Ghostly) instantly resonated me. Andrew Ryce described the album as, “an anomaly in an overcrowded field of beat music, preferring actual songs over sketches and loops, progression over attention deficit” and, in that one sentence, helped shed some light into my (sometimes) ridiculous tendency to instinctually categorize electronic music as either genius or shit. This type of knee-jerk hyperbole is, on the whole, unhelpful and (embarrassingly) dramatic but it also belies my childlike, underlying passion for the art form and its potential power. Beat-making is getting easier and easier these days but the core challenge remains the same: can you tease warmth and depth from a handful of overlapping loops? More often than not – with legions of producers tripping over each other to mimic Skrillex’s latest ‘drop’ – the answer is a terse and adamant ‘no’. But when it’s ‘yes’? Absolute fucking magic.
One of my favorite producers ever is Bonobo, a one man operation who has an uncanny ability to craft transportive electronic music. I could make my case with some flowery prose but it’d be far more economical to just have you listen to Recurring for the necessary evidence. This, a music video for a remix by Machinedrum of his tune Eyesdown, channels the fluid complexity of the original while ratcheting the mechanical syncopation to eleven.
Enter director/animator extraordinaire Anthony Francisco Schepperd (of The Music Scene, Wail to God and Two Against One fame) who leverages the organic-and-wispy-yet-bass-heavy-robotic intrigue in the tune as an agar plate on which to grow his infectious, signature visual approach. Oh and he crafted it all for Ninja Tune in just under a month. Pro.
The bass on this one is especially nice so get your headphones out. A big thanks is due to Sam Lillard who sent this one our way last night. Cheers!
We’ve posted loads of other fantastic Ninja Tune music videos, click here to see the complete list.
[ Bonobo - EyesDown (Machinedrum Remix 5" Edit) ]
posted by respondcreate on Feb. 13, 2012 in Videos | tags: animation, anthony francisco schepperd, bonobo, colorful, electronic music, hd, machinedrum, music video, ninja tune, trippy
Future Girl
No idea who made this so if anyone knows hit us up and we’ll update the post so credit is given where it’s due. Found via Peter Berkman’s fantastic tumblr.
[ Cyber Girl (GIF) via FMTOWNSMARTY > PEEEETER BERRRKMAN ]
posted by respondcreate on Feb. 10, 2012 in Pictures | tags: animated gif, animation, anime, art, colorful, future, pixel art, science fiction
The Fox
“I’ve grown a handsome tall tree, mother,
And I want to bear a fruit for you.
And I have carried your fears and your hopes, father;
They’re so heavy on my back, oh you should know.”
The process of becoming a person is a strange one; it is messy, inexact and crude. Anyone who tries to convince you that their maturation was as smooth, confident and intentional as an expertly executed golf stroke is lying. We are all tumbling through space, constantly trying on new masks and costumes hoping one eventually feels right. Someone once told me that you don’t know who you are until your late-twenties and, in my case at least, that’s more-or-less true.
Up until then we try desperately to make sense of the instincts, fears and desires that were imprinted into our fragile minds at birth or injected sometime after as the result of some inexplicably electric first-hand experience. We want to make our parents happy and then we relish their disapproval. We reject the social caste system but secretly hope we’re cool, forever longing for the approval of our peers. We love and we hate; we brood and we let go; we’re anything but still.
It’s a hard thing to fully encapsulate in few paragraphs of internet but that’s why we have music videos, right? If you haven’t noticed already, there’s another stunner from Sub Pop attached to the top of this post. It’s for a tune by Niki & The Dove, a two-piece pop outfit from Sweden whose sound is described by their aforementioned label as, “full of magic and light but with an unsettling darkness hidden beneath the surface.”
Yup. Sounds about right.
The visuals are from Sub Pop’s neighbors at WINTR who, I think you’d agree, knocked it out of the park. The out-there/colorful/abstract/geometric elements soar when tethered to the sweeping, baroque landscapes. The net effect is thrilling, like watching a kite pulled taut by the wind. Full-screen HD, y’all. Grab your headphones, crank the volume and enjoy!
Click here for more Sub Pop goodness on The Tripatorium™.
[ Niki & The Dove - The Fox [OFFICIAL VIDEO] ]
posted by respondcreate on Feb. 08, 2012 in Videos | tags: 3d, abstract, animation, bizarre, colorful, growing up, hd, music video, nature, niki & the dove, sub pop, wintr
Space Stallions
“As darkness is covering the multiverse, far away in the galaxy of the wild stallion, a spark of hope is born. Guided by the light of Mother Mustang, the Space Stallions must defeat the Demon of darkness, Destructo.”
File under: LOLWAT
Some fresh, silly, colorful, bizarre, wonderful and well-executed work by seven students – Thorvaldur S. Gunnarsson, Jonatan Brüsch, Ágúst Kristinsson, Arna Snæbjørnsdottir, Esben J. Jespersen, Touraj Khosravi and Polina Bokhan – from The Animation Workshop in Viborg, Denmark. Special mentions are due to both Friðfinnur Oculus Sigurðsson and Thomas Christensen who composed the music and sound design, respectively. How rad would it be if Space Stallions got picked up by Adult Swim?
Click here to see more films created by students from The Animation Workshop on The Tripatorium™.
[ Space Stallions ]
posted by respondcreate on Feb. 07, 2012 in Videos | tags: ágúst kristinsson, animation, arna snæbjørnsdottir, bizarre, colorful, esben j. jespersen, hd, jonatan brüsch, lolwat, polina bokhan, the animation workshop, thorvaldur s. gunnarsson, touraj khosravi
Davyd
I first saw A.I. at the movies in the summer of 2001. I distinctly remember enjoying it. I haven’t watched the film since but in the past 10 years I’ve heard people talk about how they didn’t really like it. Not that it was bad, mind you, but just that it didn’t knock their socks off; overall just not especially memorable, you know?
I’m trying to remember the plot points now and, honestly, am having a difficult time. There’s that kid from Sixth Sense and he’s a robot but he’s unhappy, right? Does he want to be a ‘real boy’ or something? I feel like there’s definitely some Pinocchio similarities or some shit.
Anyways, what I do remember are the visuals. I was always into watching stuff from a young age but 2001 was towards the beginning of when I started to set aside time to appreciate culture. When I realized art isn’t just Vivaldi or Rembrandt (though they both most certainly are); that it’s anything people create that inspires them; that the things I love – movies, music videos, electronic music, video games etc. – are worth admiring and paying attention to.
Oh right, about that: the visuals! Just rich, colorful and all ‘glow-y’. Great costumes, make-up and set design too. Spielberg is a wizard at atmosphere. Speaking of which, that’s why I’m diggin’ hard on this, the latest from our good pal Pogo. He leverages all the little visually-rich moments that stand out, mining them of their audio and then reassembling it back together again, creating an entirely unique experience. It’s all mood and feeling and I fucking love it. So much so that I’m going to give the movie another go in the coming weeks and then starting disseminating my thoughts in 140-character increments over on Twitter. Do you have an account there? Wanna talk about movies or something?
Oh and just wait til 2:01 when the Jude Law melody kicks in. Nice.
Lights down, volume up and enjoy!
posted by respondcreate on Feb. 04, 2012 in Videos | tags: a.i. artificial intelligence, ambient, chill, colorful, electronic music, future, moody, nick bertke, pogo, remix, robots, science fiction, steven spielberg, technology
Hurting
“Gotta let this go;
Gotta field tomorrow on my own,
Your touch keeps on hurtin’.”
Back in September we posted a video by David Lewandowski that perfectly encapsulates one of our favorite flavors of internet: the ever elusive LOLWAT, comprised equally of parts silly and strange. We love that shit, bro.
Anyone who’s seen Tron: Legacy knows that David has talents beyond creating the fleetingly bizarre – he crafted the exquisitely rendered opening title sequence – so we were thrilled to discover that he recently directed a music video for Friendly Fires who, besides having a fantastic band name, write some super-catchy ‘choons.
David’s grandiose, hyperbolic visuals mirror and amplify the torturous experience, as described in the song, when an object your affection doesn’t feel the same way about you as you do of them. Love is a strange/alluring/wonderful thing and we’re willing to endure a lot of pain and bullshit for a shot at it.
There’s loads of fantastic visual touches sprinkled throughout, so keep your eyes peeled the whole way through. Serving suggestion: Full-screen HD with the volume way up. Enjoy!
A big thanks to William Doran, who first brought this to our attention two months ago, and to Joe Findlay who wrote us a couple of weeks back to remind us we hadn’t posted it yet. Cheers, guys!
posted by respondcreate on Feb. 04, 2012 in Videos | tags: bizarre, colorful, david lewandowski, friendly fires, good times, love, music video, trippy, wormhole
Help Your Friends
“When things go wrong, people need help;
lend them a hand, the best you can.
We can help each other out!
Team work is what it’s all about!”
We’re huge fans of Will Sweeney – he’s been an integral part of some of our all-time favorite music videos: The Parachute Ending, The Game and Goin’in – so we were thrilled to discover that he lent his unique visual style to a Yo Gabba Gabba jingle written by DeVotchKa. It’s an excellent way to ingest some sage advice. Enjoy!
Previously: Argyle The Octopus
[ Help Your Friends – Will Sweeney for Yo Gabba Gabba! ]
posted by respondcreate on Jan. 31, 2012 in Videos | tags: aliens, animation, colorful, dan britt, devotchka, hd, joe pelling, robots, space, trippy, will sweeney, yo gabba gabba
Wishery
The first rave I ever went to was in Harrisburg Pennsylvania circa 1999. It was a memorable evening overall but a single moment stands out: at one point I overheard someone say that a particular song ‘blissed them out.” I dunno, just a nice play on words. Anyways, whenever I hear Nick Bertke (a.k.a. Pogo’s) movie remixes I ‘bliss out’. They’re so nice.
We had posted ‘Alice’ before – which is great – but this one, constructed entirely with samples from Snow White, is a bit special in that it utilizes high-def rips from digital rescans of the original film. It’s gorgeous; there’s loads of warm, hand drawn detail in those cells which we’ve never had an opportunity to see in such fidelity before. Bonus.
As always, Nick’s music is available for name-your-price. Remember: when you support stuff you love, more stuff that you love gets made. Cheers!
[ Wishery (Snow White Remix) ]
posted by respondcreate on Jan. 27, 2012 in Videos | tags: animation, disney, electronic music, hd, pogo, remix, snow white, trippy
‘Sup
Whoa.
[ Best pic I ever found here. ]
posted by respondcreate on Jan. 26, 2012 in Pictures | tags: blue, nature, ocean, photography, whales
In The Middle
I first watched this last night on my laptop and was instantly smitten. My initial assessment was that it was akin to looking through the windshield during a drive-thru car wash within What Dreams May Come. It’s an orgy of sloshing, intermingled color that’s constantly changing costume from a myriad wardrobe of morphing textures. Anyways, after watching it on the laptop I was curious to see what it would be like on the big screen, so I hooked it up to my HDTV and took a seat on a comfy chair about fifteen feet away.
Whoa man.
I highly recommend you do the same and, if you don’t have a large screen available, just take a few giant steps back from whatever device your watching this on; it’s not so much about the size of the screen but your distance from it that’s important. When you do a whole host of imagery will present itself: people, landscapes, things; all fleeting but instantly recognizable. It functions similarly to Chuck Close‘s post-seizure paintings: up close they appear as a grid of imprecise, crudely rendered orbs and splotches while, at a distance, a psychedelic proportional face starts coming into view.
The attached was created by Morgan Beringer as part of a two-video set (the other one is equally hypnotizing and abstract so don’t hesitate to give it a watch) for Matthew Dear‘s recent release on Ghostly International, a label I whole-heartedly recommend you keep an eye on. Their track-record of top-quality releases (with videos to match) is a clear indicator that what they’re doing over there is special. Have you seen Brokendate? Also from Ghostly, also rad.
If you’re diggin’ this then be sure to check out Amalgamation, too.
[ Matthew Dear - "In The Middle (I Met You There) [ft. Jonny Pierce of The Drums]" ]
posted by respondcreate on Jan. 25, 2012 in Videos | tags: abstract, colorful, ghostly international, hd, matthew dear, mind bending, morgan beringer, music video, psychedelic, trippy