April 2007: 48 May, All Left Out, Bachelorette, Dam Native, Fur Patrol

Rural arson, astrophysics fantasy, a CGI wonderland, cut-out adventures, and other forceful symbols.

48May “The End”

“The End” video is a richly animated work, a fantasy world created by Belgium CG artist Alexis Van Der Haehge. He created the cover art for 48May’s second album Streetlights and Shadows, and the music video is a continuation of the curious world of the cover star stilt walkers and an adventurous young boy. The quality of the animation is impressive, and combined with the dramatic orchestral opening of the song, it seems like it could easily be the beginning of a Pixar film. It’s a radical change from the cartoony world of 48May’s previous videos. The animation is also available in a different version, re-presented as a short film called Stilt-Walkers, with a soundtrack and sound effects instead of the 48May song.

Director: Alexis Van Der Haehge, Jody Stowers
Nga Taonga Sound & Vision

All Left Out “The Lights”

All Left Out were a punkish rock band, and Christian enough to be a regular at the Parachute festival. “The Lights” – a song with a super catchy chorus – tells the story of a restless young man in the 1940s, who goes from building a toy plane to constructing his own aircraft. He packs his bags and flies off, accidentally setting fire to his house. Well, he won’t be coming back. Director Ivan Slavov describes the video as “one of my best works”.

Director: Ivan Slavov

Bachelorette “Complex History of a Dying Star”

Bachelorette is the solo project of Christchurch musician Annabel Alpers. “Complex History of a Dying Star” is a lush, multi-layered song, kind of a mathematic 1960s girl group in space. The video imagines a semi-animated Alpers as a sort of galactic high priestess. The video is delightfully unusual and takes the song into another dimension.

Director: Louise Clifton
Nga Taonga Sound & Vision

Dam Native “Only You”

This video was released in 2010 (and it has the current NZ On Air logo) so, for whatever reason, there was a delay between the funding decision and the song release. The video is simple, with Dam Native in a black studio, and the image sometimes overlaid with graphics of guns, patu, fists and other forceful symbols. The video feels a little claustrophobic compared to the anthemic sound of the song, but it’s still a good experience.

Director: Rongotai Lomas

Fur Patrol “Hand on an Anchor”

The last time we saw Fur Patrol was their “Spinning a Line” video in 2001. It seems the Melbourne-based band didn’t release many videos from their second album, and the ones that were made weren’t funded. But finally along comes “Hand on an Anchor”. The video is based on illustrations from old children’s books. The static images are sometimes animated, but the video has a generally still feeling to it. It looks nice, but it feels more like the sort of video a band releases when they’re four singles into an album cycle, too busy on tour to appear in their video. I want to catch up with the Fur Patrol of 2007.

Director: Anna Lea Kelly

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