Each week, FRINGE MUSIC FIX culls the latest music video releases, carefully selecting the most bizarre, provocative, and remarkable videos from all across the globe.
The following are our selections for the week ending January 31st, 2014. Sit back, relax, and open your minds eye, things are about to get interesting.
Part dance video and part brilliant homage to 1987 cult film Mannequin, Alex Southams video for Come Alive is a relentlessly fun filled outing. Like Mannequin, the video sees its male protagonist, Chromeos own David Macklovitch, enamoured with a department store mannequin whos been brought to life via mystical 80s magic ala Weird Science. As more mannequins spring to life, we are introduced to our two other principal characters; A night security guard portrayed by Chromeos Patrick Gemayel, and a janitor portrayed by Chaz Bundick, better known as acclaimed electronic music producer, Toro y Moi. From this point on, the department store transforms into a veritable showcase of singing and dancing, which eventually leads to Macklovitch and Bundick each partnering up with a living mannequin for closet makeout sessions. The guys dont get to fulfill their 7 minutes in heaven though, as they are abruptly interrupted by the security guard and his obnoxiously bright flashlight. Once discovered, the mannequins quickly revert to their original inanimate states, and Macklovitch and Bundick are tossed out of the department store.
Not unlike MØs previous music videos, director Georgia Hudson sets out to challenge our ideas of style through the contrast of setting and fashion with her spirited music video for Dont Wanna Dance." The video opens with a fantastic, unforgettable shot of the emerging Danish Alternative Pop star inexplicably holding a fawn wrapped in a blanket. Cut to the main scene, where we find MØ accompanied by a group of her equally attractive female friends dressed in colourful and unique retro clothing, not unlike the attire you might expect to find in a Thrift Shop. As they frolic and dance amongst the rubble in an automotive scrap yard, its hard to not get caught up in the amicable and unusual spectacle unfolding before us.
Dominique Rocher directs the impressively choreographed video for We Were Evergreens Daughter." As multiple women enter the videos single setting room populated with common furniture items such as a dresser, bathtub, toilet, mirror, ladder and a bookshelf, they all take turns acting out common daily tasks. One might interpret the videos meaning as an attempt to visualize the joys, anxieties, mediocrity and repetitious nature of everyday life. Its a busy conceptual piece that is impressively filmed as a single take that simultaneously captivates and engages the viewer.
Oliver Preach directs the minimal and very effective music video for Arthur Beatrices Midland." The video is shot in a courtyard sometime after a rainfall. The overcast setting helps to create a melancholic tone for the video which Id interpret as a dance performance documenting the physical and emotional stages of a relationship gone awry. As the video progresses, the tension increases between our two leads as tender embraces are quickly replaced with violent aggression. While the video may be void of fancy visual effects and complicated plot, I appreciated its execution and how well it succeeds at conveying believable emotion and a loose narrative despite its simplicity.
This weeks most remarkable music video comes unsurprisingly from St. Vincent, whose impressive videography has never ceased to amaze. Directed by Chino Moya, Digital Witness invites us into its bold pastel coloured vision of the future where, mankind now seems void of showing emotion. People go about their routines in a robotic and calculated manner as if completely disconnected from humanity. Perhaps, in an age that values technology as highly as we do, this video is a social commentary in regards to our increasing need to be connected," as opposed to making interpersonal connections with actual people outside of the internet. You may also note that, with the exception of Annie Clarke, all of the secondary characters have very atypical appearances, both in looks and in fashion, which may suggest a future void of personality and individuality. From the videos incredible set design, to its exceptional use of contrast and space, everything about this video is positively brilliant.
