Each week, FRINGE MUSIC FIX culls the latest music video releases, carefully selecting the most bizarre, provocative, and remarkable videos from across the world.
Sit back, relax, and open your minds eye; things are about to get interesting. The following are our selections for the week ending October 5th, 2014.
Swedish electronic act iamamiwhoami have released not one, but two new music videos this week. Singles include, "chasing kites" and "thin." These two videos are the 6th and 7th installments in a series intent on promoting BLUE, iamamiwhoami's new album set for release on November 10th. The remaining tracks from BLUE: "ripple," "the last dancer," and "shadowshow," will each receive their own videos in November. Like the first installments of the audiovisual series, the video sees Jonna Lee, iamamiwhoami's talented songstress, dancing and performing in an ocean-side setting during states of the changing sun. The series also follows a group of shadowy characters in full black suits. Their mischievous nature is cryptic, but nonetheless, it seems quite significant in the world of iamamiwhoami.
At the request of TV On The Radio's own Tunde Adebimpe, the music video for "Happy Idiot" casts Paul Reubens (Pee-Wee Herman) as "Racer Steve." With some inspiration taken from Speed Racer, Racer Steve's personality takes a subtle turn, as his sanity comes into question. The music video was directed by Danny Jelink and produced by Funny Or Die. Also starring in the video is Doctor Who's Karen Gillan, who is cast as Racecar Steve's beautiful delusion.
Channeling the casualty-fetishists of David Cronenberg's Crash, and using a hint of the character designs of Kill Bill, the Dick Thompson directed NSFW video for Bass Drum of Death's "Left For Dead" features a terrible man and his crew of attractive, dangerous, and slightly broken female associates. The video takes place in a mansion, filled with heavy arms, a shortage of clothing, and an abundance of body bandages and lingerie. It's a disturbing and unforgettable affair that succeeds at being as uncomfortable as it is titillating.
The ambitious black and white music video for two of The Bug's tracks, "Function" and "Void," was directed by Factory Fifteen with the assistance of The Creators Project. The cinematic and visceral video shows the slow demise of a totalitarian future through gripping visuals of impressively designed computer generated skyscrapers collapsing.
The video for Flying Lotus' "Never Catch Me" opens on a funeral for two children. As the experimental electronic, jazz infused track unwinds, the children emerge from their caskets. While their families grieve, they begin a gleeful and technically impressive dance routine that the church goers seem oblivious to. Eventually, they make their way outdoors, steal the Hearse they rode in on, and ride away into the sunset, destined for an eternity of spirited dancing and smiling. Director Hiro Murai pulls off a magnificent feat of rendering what should be a tragic and dark subject matter, into a beautiful, joyous, and thoughtful clip that is sure to be considered one of this year's best.
