Posts tagged 'Trippy'

Save Me

“And you gave me love
When I could not love myself
And you made me turn
From the way I saw myself
And you’re patient, love
And you help me help myself
And you save me,
You save me, you save me…”

What a great fuckin’ song. Cheers to Peter Lowey for the fantastic visuals and to Gotye for explicating, via woven words and sounds, the transformative magic of love. Enjoy!

Click here for some moar Gotye goodness on The Tripatorium™.

[ Gotye - Save Me - official video ]

With My Umbrella

Takashi Ohashi‘s animation in this music video for cokiyu reminds me of both bleeple’s 2D moving collages and Ori Toor’s layered undulations. They all share a foundation of smooth, psychedelic abstraction but Takashi’s shapes veer away from pure form to conjure an alien landscape of playful, swimming organisms. It’s smooth-as-fuck, too – clearly he sweats the details, something I always appreciate.

Speaking of which, I’m a big fan of the ‘color-echo’ effect that makes it’s first appearance from 1:41-2:06, reappears at 2:47 and spools up to a crescendo from 3:17 to 3:47. It probably looks good on your phone, sure, but it’s one of those bits of subtle animation that’s magic on a big screen in a dark room so, if you’ve got access to a similar environment, I suggest you experience it there.

Enjoy!

P.S. If you’re diggin’ this, definitely watch Chunkothy next.

[ cokiyu - With My Umbrella ]

Getaway Tonight

This song by OPOSSOM – with its big swells of lush, layered chords and surgical syncopated stabs of percussive rhythm – hooked me right from the jump. I kept turning it up to the point where Ms. Tripatorium looked over with concern from across the room because she could hear it blaring out of my earbuds with a tinny intensity. I just smiled and said, ‘It’s a really good tune.’

It is. You’ll see.

Anyways, the psychedelic visuals are a bit scattered and bizarre but that’s always been just fine with me. They’re by Special Problems (Campbell Hooper and Joel Kefali) and the attached fits in nicely with the other two out-there music videos we’ve posted by them, The Sun and MmmHmm.

Load it in full-screen HD, get your headphones out and enjoy. Oh and a big thanks to Bryan for sending this one our way. Cheers!

[ OPOSSOM - Getaway Tonight ]

Belly

“I think you should go. I don’t want you here.”

File under: LOLWAT

Cheers to Mickey Gral for sending this potent dose of bizarre by Julia Pott our way. Enjoy!

[ Belly ]

Up In The Sky

“Up in the sky, there is a village,
and the people there are blue –
I believe it’s true.”

Anraud Janvier, a recent graduate of Supinfocom, wrote in to let us know about a music video he recently co-directed with Antoine Robert at Cube Creative for 77 Bombay Street. The song describes a perfect little utopia that exists above the clouds and the bright, whimsical and weird visuals drip with a naive innocence the mirrors the optimistic vibe.

It’s feel-good sunshine from start to finish but, seeing as I’m partial to wormholes, my favorite sequence kicked off at 2:33 when the Mii-esque rendered cast plunged directly into a technicolor tunnel via a blossoming Lotus flower. That shit’s mah jam, bruh.

When you’re done here, be sure to check out Playing With Light, an excellent little short produced at Cube two summers ago. Enjoy!

[ [HD] 77 Bombay Street - Up In The Sky - Official Video (Animated) ]

New Lands

Hey, check it out: new Justice. Nice. The attached music video follows in the tradition of their last two, namely that it kicks ass. Barcelona-based CANADA handled the direction and their approach, just like in the previously featured Invisible Light, floods the senses with a meticulously crafted universe buoyed by a warm wave of back-of-your-mind nostalgia. No part is overdone; the story, costumes, sets, visual effects and action all work together in equal proportion, shining in their own way but contributing to a whole that exceeds the sum of its parts. The version posted on YouTube clocks in at four-and-a-half minutes but the one I attached from Vimeo has an extended WarGames/Tron-esque credit sequence that’s nearly as long the story so, if you’re into that sort of thing, keep watching once the action dies down.

As I mentioned at the top of the post, the last two Justice videos we posted – Civilization and On’n'on – are both fantastic (as is the über-bizarre Invisible Light) so give them a watch if you haven’t already.

One more thing: my favorite album of 2011 was easily Galactic Melt  by Com Truise (Favorite tune? No contest: Glawio) so I was understandably excited when I discovered that his third LP, In Decay, was released on Ghostly this past Tuesday. It’s packed with Mr. Truise’s trademark lush, layered synths and at present I’ve listened to it four times (the fifth is in progress as I write). If you’re already a fan then don’t hesitate to pick it up, if you’re on the fence head over to Rdio to give it a pre-buy listen.

[ Justice 'New Lands' ]

Oben

Gorgeous, haunting and dripping with atmosphere, this film by Thierno Bah, Noé Giuliani, Pierre Ledain and David Martins da Silva deserves your undivided attention. Stylistically it reminds me of both Fosters and Samurai Jack (high praise, for sure) but, in terms of thematic fare, this is a dish meant for adults, not kids.

The word ‘heavy’ comes to mind.

Don’t hesitate to dive in, bruh. Oh and grab your headphones, the sound design by Prince N’Gouda Ba is top-flight.

If you want to keep the contemplative train rolling I recommend checking out Between Bears next. Enjoy!

[ OBEN ]

Lamento

About ten seconds in I started smiling, immediately caught off-guard – in the most pleasing of ways – by this Joshua Catalano-created journey through a hard-lined, cell-shaded, abstract geometric landscape. The slightly muted palette compliments the loopy, minimal tech-throbs of John Talabot rather well – so much so that I’ve re-watched it a dozen times already.

I typed out a couple of other paragraphs about the attached but they all felt forced, cheap even. I decided to call it quits and just post the damn thing after I remembered some wise words from the great John Peel: “At the heart of anything good there should be a kernel of something undefinable, and if you can define it, or claim to be able to define it, then, in a sense, you’ve missed the point.”

Cheers to that.

I can talk about other stuff in this space, right? OF COURSE I CAN. Here’s some stuff I recommend you check out at your soonest convenience:

1. The Ghostfaced Pixels by Safety Words. It’s a Wu-centric mix tape backed with NES sampled beats…for a taste, give Snikt (my favorite cut from the album) a listen. It’s a free download so don’t hesitate to get on that shit.

2. Veep. HBO consistently brings the heat and each episode of the Elaine-helmed, all-star cast is packed with hilarious, smartly-written dialogue. If you’re in the market for LULZ, this one delivers.

3. Do y’all watch Big Brother? Y’all should. My wife got me into it three summers ago after a prolonged campaign of brute-force pleading until I finally gave-in. I’m glad I did. At first glance it looks simple and trashy but if you crack open it’s seemingly cheap facade you’ll find a warm, tasty center that yields a bumper crop of entertainment. The latest season premieres this Thursday. Want to watch it together?

[ LAMENTO ]

Dubstep Dispute

“Join this lovable crew of droids as they solve their differences the only way dubstep robots know how.”

File under: LOLWAT

[ Dubstep Dispute ]

I, pet goat 2

“A story about the fire at the heart of suffering.”

Oh shit. Do yourself a favor and prime your environment for an optimal viewing experience – lights down, full-screen and volume up – this gem deserves your undivided attention.

The attached was created by the talented team at Heliofant, “a nascent independent computer animation studio focused on creating experimental and challenging content” based in the Laurentian mountains just north of Montreal. At present they’re 100% self-funded and you can ensure their next short comes ‘sooner’ rather than ‘later’ by dropping a few shekels into their Paypal.

My weekly album allowance was diverted their way, maybe you’ll consider something similar?

One more thing: Heliofant whipped-up some high-def wallpapers based on the film so follow this hyperlink if you’re in the market for a fresh coat of desktop pixels.

[ I, pet goat II ]

Etcetera

I wasn’t sure where this music video – by director/animator/illustrator/designer Martin Allais – was headed but ceased to care once the flowing bursts of animation kicked in at 0:41. It’s bizarre in the best of ways, diverting any effort that might have been paid towards narrative into an all-in exhibition of constantly morphing visuals. The animation shifts between hand-drawn and computer generated but shares a textural sheen that, when combined with the paper craft infused stop-motion, creates an intimate, playful atmosphere.

Technically, this project was ‘unofficial’ which just means My Dry Wet Mess didn’t have to pay a dime for a killer music video. It turns out that the bill was picked up by some generous folks over at IndieGoGo so ‘Cheers!’ to everyone who invested money out of ‘pure trust’, having no idea what Martin would end up creating.

I rather like this new, crowd funded world; thanks (again), internet.

Speaking of which, we’re indebted to ‘Mark I’ for dropping this one in our inbox. Thanks!

[ My Dry Wet Mess - Etcetera ]

Lazuli

Beach House has a just-out-of-reach enigmatic quality to their music; I don’t ‘get’ what they’re trying to say but then I do…kinda. I’m OK with it – I’ve never needed meaning to be force-fed down my gullet (in fact, I prefer the opposite) – and their tunes often leave an aftertaste of mystery that never quite resolves.  In those moments the lack of lyrical clarity is preferable; it frees me to power-down the analytical modules of my brain and relax into the pure ethereal atmosphere of their instrumentation.

It’s rather nice, really.

Allen Cordell, who directed the attached, seems to get this too as he’s peppered the whole affair with oblique, mysterious visuals that fit together in style and tone but not much else. It’s bizarre in the best of ways, a fitting first course for a late-night, solitary sesh.

What are you waiting for? Get in there.

[ Beach House - Lazuli ]

Kagemono: The Shadow Folk

“The story of Beopup, a little fox who goes hunting in the woods and uncovers something rather unpleasant…”

Diggin’ this cute and whimsical (but a bit dark, too) animation by recent CalArts grad, Sabrina Cotugno. Enjoy!

A big thanks to Timo Cox for sending this one our way – cheers!

[ Kagemono: The Shadow Folk ]

Midnight City

This music video was put together by some of our favorite creatives: Fleur & Manu (No Brain) provided the decidedly Spielberg-ian direction, DIVISION Paris (No Brain, On’n'on) handled production and Machine Molle (The Greeks, Sur Le Quai, Goin’in) delivered the visual effects.

I’m a big fan of M83‘s lush, layered, shoegaze-but-synth-heavy sound and the dream-team listed above delivers some enigmatic, atmospheric visuals that serve as a pitch-perfect accompaniment.

Truth be told, we first saw this back in October when one of our regular contributors, Sam Lillard, dropped it in our inbox. We liked it then, too! So much so that we filed it in our ‘_POST NOW BRAH_’ folder which, in light of today’s latent response time, should probably be renamed. Anyways, we decided to finally get this up on the site when we saw that its sequel, Reunion, was recently released. It’s just as great as the attached so, when you’re done here, definitely give it a watch next. Enjoy!

P.S. Keep your eyes peeled for No Brain‘s brief cameo at 0:27.

[ M83 | Midnight City ]

Ghosst(s)

CRCR brings the weird once again with some dark, bizarre hand-drawn visuals in this music video for Lorn‘s latest release on Ninja Tune. Serving suggestion: full-screen, lights-down, volume up.

The other CRCR-created shorts we’ve posted so-far – Jesus2000 and Todor & Petru – definitely warrant your attention or, if you’d rather keep the awesome music video train rolling, check out our Ninja Tune feed; everything there is well-worth your time. Enjoy!

[ Lorn - 'Ghosst(s)' ]

Mind Control

“I don’t want the right to be rude, I just want the right to be cool –
However I chose to do it, I do whatever I chose to be or whom.
Hey I don’t need your money, I can grow my own food.
I don’t need your beauty standard, I can be my own dude.
And I don’t pay tuition, I can be my own school.
I don’t need your prescriptions, I can change my own mood.”

I was alive in the early eighties but didn’t become cognizant of its peculiar pop-cultural flavors until years later when I’d embark on mid-day marathons of tee-vee re-runs. I enjoyed playing outside sure, but there’s something about being locked into a screen that I’ve always found cathartic. I felt guilty about it then but I’m not sure why; whenever I’d try to tune out some inner voice would chime in, reminding me that I was wasting precious time. In all honesty, I figured it was God trying to communicate that I was sinning but – considering I’ve ruled that line of reasoning out – I’m returning to these old shame-markers in an attempt to unpack them.

Almost immediately after I began watching the attached, random memories surfaced of couch-locked sunny Summer afternoons where I allowed my brain to spool itself down to catharsis via hours-long binges on such shows as Airwolf, Knight Rider, A-Team and Mission Impossible. I don’t know when the compulsion to cram my head with media started but, as far as I can tell, the fixation has always been with me; it’s what I love to do.

I know now that, in this regard, television was an aperitif, a mere warm-up to the full-on high that would deliver itself in stunning revelatory clarity when I first found the internet. I still hold affection for the older form, one in which it was someone’s else’s job to decide what I’d see next. There’s a sentimental comfort in watching simple characters act out uncomplicated plots (whose resolution you could reliably guess by paying close attention to the first few scenes) over a grainy analog signal.

In that regard, this music video for Brooklyn-based Friends – directed by Hiro Murai – delivers handily, leveraging a heavy nostalgia vector without getting too mired in it; there’s a modernity to the execution that keeps it fresh. I’m down. Plus: kaleidoscopes. Fuck yeah.

[ Friends "Mind Control" ]

Nature Regulate

“All emotions are disease, worn down like rotted teeth;
I run a hundred miles an hour, to try and get free.
But to stained dollars we obey, ease the military away.
What happened to making the most of it?
What if one life – one roll of the dice – is all you get?”

The visuals in this music video for Birdpen (by Pooya Abbasian) are, at first glance a bit random and disconnected which, if I’m honest, initially put me off. I was like, what’s this all about bro? But the song itself – with its earnest description of the anxiety-riddled self doubt that chaperones our search for significance – speaks to the indeterminate, ultimate open-ended-ness that flows beneath us as we grow up. In that light, something connected and I watched it a few times in quick succession. Maybe you’ll like it too?

Thanks for taking the time to send this in Pooya, cheers!

[ BIRDPEN-Nature Regulate ]

Feed me rainbows

File under: LOLWAT

Bizarre, polygonal visuals from Marco Morandi set to some ethereal, atmospheric tunes by Ninca Leece. Thanks again, internet!

[ Feed me rainbows ]

Remember

Have you guys ever heard of Hawaiian Baby Woodrose seeds? In terms of psychedelics I wouldn’t recommend them. On the gradient scale from discomfort to otherworldly bliss they skew wildly towards the former; your platter is piled high with twin helpings of purge and (if you’re lucky) only a minuscule, mostly-tasteless garnish of surreal, clanking insight. To put it simply: there’s a reason you can buy them legally at your local garden supply store.

We’ve all been there though right? A blank-slate weekend with itchy thoughts, desperate for some kind of stimulation. Your mainstays are all-but depleted with no one in sight to replenish their stores. It’s in these moments the mind gets desperate. “Oh, you read about these on the internet? You heard it could-do-something-or-other? Yeah man, whatever, I’m down.”

A bored young brain can be a strange and dangerous thing.

Anyways, after a heavy barbecue dinner, a few drinks and some futile resin hits we swallowed them down. Numerous trustworthy warnings, received in hypertext, were casually disregarded; apparently they were supposed to be soaked overnight to remove some noxious husk. Too late, it’s 11pm on a clear, perfect Saturday; we’ll take our chances. “Let’s go.”

Hours pass. Nothing. Time for bed; we’re getting sleepy, unaware that this is part of the ramp up. “I’ll take the couch dude, good night, see you in the morning.”

I’m not sure when the ‘thrumming’ started but it probably kicked-off during R.E.M. sleep. Though in-reality absolutely still, my limbs were buzzy and shaking. It was as if my tendons were lengthening, the attached muscles dangling freely from stringy bones like swaying wind chimes before a late-summer thunderstorm.

And where was the warmth going? Why was it traveling to my core in thick palpable waves? Thrum-rum-rum-um, thrum-rum-rum-um, thrum-rum-rum-um. It was pleasant but…not. I couldn’t decide. Was I dreaming?

I opened my eyes and the opposite wall was alive with blinks and flashes. Is this the trip? Yes, but not like I was thinking, the fevered visuals on display came not from my mind but a more pedestrian source: the cheap display of an all-in-one stereo perched high on the shelf behind me. There was no sound coming from the speakers but I could hear it all the same, Thrum-rum-rum-um, thrum-rum-rum-um, thrum-rum-rum-um.

It moved in concert with my jangled limbs, carrying heat down my shoulders and up my hips to meet in the center of my gut. It felt wonderful for about a minute and then I realized what was happening: my body was trying to tell me that I was going to vomit. Like now. In someone else’s house. I needed to make a break for it.

FUCK.

Lying on the cool bathroom floor felt fantastic and I stayed there for hours. It wasn’t just the idle stereo’s flickering slot-machine demo mode that could be heard but all sources of light. In here however, the gentle thrum was gone, it’s barely-audible throb replaced by a constant and abrasive owl’s screech from the bright spherical bulbs above the vanity.

It was around this time that I said aloud, “Morning…I want it to be morning now.”

The flavors in the attached remind me a bit of that night though, thankfully, sans anxious nausea. This is one of those videos you need headphones on in a dark-room to fully appreciate. The layers of tight, aggressive synths and staccato vocals from new-on-the-scene Raveyards coalesce into an aggressive cacophony while the whacked-out dark, just-a-bit unsettling visuals (as directed by Brussels-based Charles De Meyer) ramp up accordingly til it all culminates in a bizarre crescendo.

It’s so dope, you guys; an instant classic. Enjoy!

[ Raveyards - "Remember" ]

Smug

Taken from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/smug_one/6203765899/in/photostream/
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Taking part in a conversation about what is or isn’t art is the intellectual equivalent of masturbation; it’s probably fun for you but isn’t of much utility to anyone else. I obtained a four-year degree in art during my early twenties which means – beyond accruing an obscene amount of debt – that I’ve spent more than enough time locked in my own head, enamored with how wonderful my own thoughts were on the subject.

This is not something I’m proud of.

That being said, I’ve found that thinking intentionally about anything is rarely a waste of time, just as long as you don’t allow the procesc to transform you into a pretentious douche. The net outcome of my autoerotic cognitive fiddlings? Two things:

  1. I don’t see much use in categorizing things as art or not-art.
  2. I tend to appreciate anything that exhibits craft.

The first item above is self-explanatory but the second is why I instinctually dismiss performance artists, ‘found-object’ impresarios or anyone else whose manifesto over-leverages the word ‘exploration’ and tend to revere potters, illustrators, photo-realists and graffiti writers.

Smug is an exemplary example of the latter two. Anyone who has attempted to draft anything with aerosol will attest to how difficult it is to get it to do what you want it to. I tried my hand at it during my late teens and was instantly repelled, knowing immediately that I didn’t possess the patience to be competent, let alone great. Just look at the images I’ve collected above, marvel at their draftsmanship and the artist’s mastery of color – can you believe a human being is capable of this shit? Attached is just a small sampling of his work, hit up his Flickr for loads more.

Probably my favorite artist right now is Kid Zoom who we featured back in December. Click that last hyperlink if you know what’s good for you.

[ SmugOne ]