A naughty schoolgirl and schoolboy, urban angst, chilled-out vibes and the tail end of peak hip hop.
Frontline “Hold ‘Em”
The version of this video that’s been uploaded was super pixelly and jumpy when I tried to watch it, so I’m not sure if I totally got what was happening. It basically seems to be David Dallas in downtown Auckland, rapping about the detrimental effects of being oppressed by the system. Guys, I’m seeing a parallel here with how Warner Music’s copyright algorithms overzealously take down videos on YouTube, meaning the only sources left are low quality videos on random hosting sites.
Director: Nic Finlayson
Gestalt Switch “Nothing Has Changed” – missing
A website dedicated to Dunedin music reported at the time that local band Gestalt Switch had received music video funding for “Nothing Has Changed” and would be soon making a video with director John Ong. Intriguingly, it notes that Ong also directed the video for the song “Sick Man”, “which no one has ever seen” (it’s at Nga Taonga, though). Here’s the audio. You can sing the verses of “Sierra Leone” over the song’s intro.
Juse featuring Smashproof “Ride Till We Die”
The funded Juse song in the database is “Same Old Issues” featuring Tha Feelstyle and Tyree, but “Ride Till We Die” has the NZ On Air logo. It feels like the tail end of peak hip hop, almost a parody of the excesses of that culture. But this is New Zealand – at best the lifestyle in this video is a fairytale. But in a few years’ time Smashproof moved beyond the hip hop club cliches and had a massive hit single with lyrics closer to home.
Director: Andrew Morton
Nga Taonga Sound & Vision
Katchafire “Hey Girl”
This is Katchafire just doing what they do best – chilled-out reggae with a loved-up edge. The video (which also received the $1500 grant from Positively Wellington Business’s Made In Wellington scheme) involves the band set against an animated background involving lots of silhouettes of plants and koru. It mostly works, except for an botanical silhouette that makes a pregnant woman look a bit… masculine.
Director: Paul Herschell
Nga Taonga Sound & Vision
Minuit “Suave As Sin”
Minuit goes for a deconstructed rock sound with “Suave as Sin”. The video stars singer Ruth, an office chair and an energetic young boy in a white studio. Ruth is wearing a school uniform – and it’s not like a “sexy schoolgirl” costume, rather just a very ordinary mid-20th century gymslip. So it’s mainly Ruth channeling her inner bratty schoolgirl and the actual kid in the video causing his own chaos.
Director: Mike Bridgman