the lost levels + steve jones: the early sheets.

Ok, I know I’m a sucker for anything 8-bit related, but I just died. And went to pseudo-Super Mario 2-D  heaven. At least that’s where it starts out, and then it just gets increasingly awesome from there. Be sure to watch it to the very, very end.

UK-based digital artist and animator Steve Jones (a.k.a. Eyebath) created this piece of radness for The Lost Levels’ track “The Early Sheets.” Jones only had this one vid up on his Radar profile. Please sir, can I have some more? I’m not sure why I just quoted “Oliver”, but I think it’s because Jones is British.

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alva noto / carsten nicolai : unitxt u_08-1

I have a mild obsession with Japanese vending machines. I also have a mild obsession with things that light up. Throw in some experimental French electro-ambient, and I’m sold. Easy as that.

This was shot in Tokyo; Japanese vids always looks so sharp. The quality of the light is so austere and tight, like the light can cut. Seriously, the Japanese are putting something in their lightbulbs: extra tungsten or awesomeness or something only they know about. Sound artist Carsten Nicolai directed this vid for Alva Noto‘s “UNITXT u_08-1”, featuring the voice of Anne-James Chaton.

Here’s the thing: Carsten and Alva are the same person. Carsten Nicolai is the man, Alva Noto is his musical persona. Thought they both have their own website. Gotta love Germans…

bruno dicolla: return as an animal.

I really fucking dig this. Twitchy, traced, and all neon like. The odd juxtaposition of the child-like, sort of xylophonic soundtrack with the carnivores and the grim reaper give the whole thing a totally disarming, unusual air.

Awesome work from Bruno Dicolla.

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Via Motionographer

lucy mcrae + mandy smith: chlorophyll skin.

Exploring the evolutionary and mutational possibilities when converging art, science, and the human body, I’ve been a huge fan of the body dysmophic works of Lucy McRae and Bart Hess for quite a while now. See past posts here and here.

For an installation at Amsterdam Fashion Week in July, McRae teamed up with Mandy Smith to create “Chlorophyll Skin”, an “experimentation into color, movement, absorption and the body.” The results are eerie; reptilian yet human, familiar yet alien, chromatic yet a little grotesque.

It doesn’t hurt that they’ve set it to Fever Ray’s “When I Grow Up”, a sensational song with an equally sensational video.

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esteban diácono: let yourself feel.

Ah, beauty. A long, languid, liquidy bit of motion design awesomeness by Esteban Diácono. Musing on the nature of creativity and imagination, the vid features quotes from Einstein, Stefan Sagmeister, Brian Eno, and other various creative types from different media. The song is “Ljósið” by Ólafur Arnalds.

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Via Ventilate

gabe askew + grizzly bear: two weeks.

So, Grizzly Bear kick ass. We all know that. But in addition to the offical video for “Two Weeks”, directed by the awesome Patrick Daughters, the song has also inspired the creation of some equally beautiful fan vids. The first was J Tyler Helms’ “Red Balloon” homage from a few months ago.

But now, kicking it up about a thousand notches in the fan video department, comes this staggeringly lovely video from Gabe Askew.

Here’s the thing. The video has two guys in it, but it’s not about the fact that it’s  two guys. They simply “are.”

Socially, it’s incredibly crucial for any minority to be represented in all facets of society – entertainment, journalism, mass media, politics, etc. – not by their stereotypes but by their realities. As gay people, we need to be, deserve to be, and should promote and support artists who represent our lives in simple, truthful, meaningful ways. And that’s just what this video does: it’s not about two gay guys, it’s about two people in love.

I don’t know if Askew is gay or straight, but Ed Droste, the lead singer of Grizzly Bear, is openly gay. Though the lyrics aren’t gender specific, I imagine when he wrote it he was thinking about two men. And now there’s a video that, incredibly well, brings that second layer of the song to life.

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Via Towleroad

rymdreglage: 8-bit trip.

This took 1500 hours. And it shows. Sweet Jesus…

Crazy killer stop motion vid created by Swedish creative team Rymdreglage, with animation by Thomas Redign and music by Daniel Larsson.

Via one of my new fave motion blogs –  No Zap

ohbijou + exploding motor car: new years.

Hometown goodness right here. One of my favourite new bands, Toronto’s own incredible  Ohbijou, teamed up with Toronto’s own Exploding Motor Car to create this unreal vid for “New Years.” This is one my fave videos this whole year.

Besides being an incredible track, the vid is filled with goodness: fabrics lava and glitter stalactites and Fraggle Rock feelings. The video is like a glimpse into a forgotten cave filled with mementos from when it used to be under the sea. It’s like everything you saw in your mind when you built subterranean blanket forts under your bed when you were five.

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Thanks to Geoff for the tip.

heath ledger + modest mouse + the masses: king rat.

First off, I’m not sure life would be worth living without Stereogum. I just had to get that off my chest.

Second off, it’s weird when someone’s work gets released posthumously. I can’t help but think that a) the person knew they were going to die, and so b) have filled whatever it is with hidden messages from the other side. I know this probably isn’t true, but I can’t stop looking for messages in a bottle from the dead.

Heath Ledger approached Modest Mouse with a directorial idea for a video for “King Rat” in January 2007. After his death in 2008, the video was completed by film collective The Masses. This is what they say on their website:

“In January of 2007, while visiting his homeland of Australia, Heath Ledger presented Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse with an idea to direct a video for their yet-to-be-released song “King Rat”.  Heath’s vision, brave and unapologetic in its nature, would marry his love of bold and original music with his impassioned stance against the illegal commercial whale hunts taking place off the coast of Australia each year.

Always one to operate from his heart and take a stand for what he cared deeply about, Heath’s intention was to raise awareness on modern whaling practices through a potent visual piece without having to say a word.  It was his way to let the story, in its candid reversal, speak for itself.

The video was fully conceived down to the last detail but unfinished when Heath passed away in January of 2008.   We completed the video in his honor… The King Rat video was directed by Heath Ledger, co-directed and illustrated by Daniel Auber with lead animation by Norris Houk, animation by Jade Taglioli and produced by Sara Cline of THE MASSES.”

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Via (the daily must-read) Stereogum

joker’s daughter + hayley morris: lucid.

Besides loving this song, the vid for Joker’s Daugter’s “Lucid”, directed by artist and animator Hayley Morris,  gives me a strong renaissance magic vibe. I feel court jesters, voodoo, tarot cards, commedia dell’arte, and hooded men sitting in towers controlling things you don’t realize they’re controlling. Morris shot the whole thing with hand-made paper puppets on painted backgrounds. Impressive.

Joker’s Daughter is a musical collab between legendary producer Danger Mouse and UK-born folk singer/songwriter Helena Costas. Their debut, “The Last Laugh”, dropped in June but I’m just catching on to it now.

Clearly exhibiting an eye for visuals as well as an ear for music, I’m also really into the vid for “Worm’s Head”, directed by Randy Knott.