Knxwledge: Flyinglizrds
There are good music videos, and then there are fucking good music videos. This belongs to the latter category. Knxwledge has created an animated piece to go with 1 minute and 40 seconds of sound that is absolutely mind boggling. Words really can’t describe the amount of time and effort that must have gone into creating such a deeply layered animation. The visuals are absolutely stunning, combining bold lines, strokes and images to create a powerful supplement to the music. Knxwledge already proved that he was an artist to watch out for when he dropped his debut Hud Dreems earlier this year. Here he’s demonstrated his genius yet again. Catch him at Splendour In The Grass this year.
Jarryd James: Give me Something
Jarryd James exploded onto the music scene earlier this year with his fabulous single Do You Remember. His unique beats combined with intense, mesmerising vocals instantly warranted huge success. Now he’s at it again.
The music video is subtle but incredibly effective. Set in the desert, it simply features the artist staring out the window at a blonde lady who walks around the pool outside. Using rewind/replay techniques, it wobbles two and fro with the beat at every chorus, distorting the idea of the film as a linear narrative piece about unrequited love. James has some exciting stuff lined up, including working with Malay, the Grammy-winning producer who’s responsible for Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange.
Jack Grace: Hills
Jack Grace is another Australian artist who has been using time and repetition in a really interesting way. In his first single Hills, which will be featured on his forthcoming debut album, Grace loops fragments of sound that you wouldn’t normally hear in the underlying beat of a song. The result is awesome, simultaneously beautiful and slightly unnerving. He continues this notion in the music video, using footage that he took whilst driving between NYC and Vermont. The footage is repetitive, almost like a continues montage, but he combines it with shots of his own head to create a powerful, distorted video. The artist said he wanted the clip to reflect the track and encapsulate the unspoken separation often felt from those closest to us.
Big White: You Know I Love You
Big White have dropped their first official single, and released a lovely self-directed music video to go with it. The clip is filmed in their spacious Art Deco share house, and even features a special appearance from their cat Cleo. The clip’s joyous 80’s nostalgia ties in perfectly with Big White’s sound, which guitar heavy and grungy, ever so slightly reminiscent of The Cure or The Smiths. Big White have been scoring heaps of airtime on Triple J for You Know I Love You, and have a big line-up of support roles for shows along the East Coast.
Dornik: Drive
Dornik has just released his soulful new single Drive, from his self-titled upcoming album. The song is smooth, sexy and crooning, evoking old-school funk and modern electronica simultaneously. Dornik’s storytelling prowess is extended even further with the music video, which speaks almost stronger the song at some points to reminisce on teenage lust, sneaking out late and drinking alcohol. Drive is a love story, combined with the underling threat of violence, trouble from parents, essentially everything that we glorify a teenager’s life to be like.