Running with blokes, a game of bowls, down in the flowers, old telly, a campstravaganza, flow not mirror
Tag: Concord Dawn
June 2010: Anika Moa, Anna Wilson, Artisan Guns, BARB, Cairo Knife Fight, Candice Rhind, Concord Dawn
Lonely hearts theatre, the tartan skirt, tiny power lines, unusual pop, a really long cord, a girl’s night out, and Vienna part II.
March 2010: Anika Moa, Annabel Fay, Autozamm, Black River Drive, Boh Runga, Bulletproof, Computers Want Me Dead, Concord Dawn
Running through the ’80s, over yonder in old Havana town, haunted by a ghost, doctoring the rock, rocking the winery, Slave takes over, computron 2010, down at the Prater.
December 2006: Concord Dawn, Cut Off Your Hands, Dimmer, Elle, Evermore, False Start
Hypno Shayne, 12 stripes, Auckland pop, Queensland pop-rock, and raging against the goths.
Continue reading December 2006: Concord Dawn, Cut Off Your Hands, Dimmer, Elle, Evermore, False Start
Concord Dawn “Man for all Seasons”
This Concord Dawn video was another recipient of the $1500 grant that Positively Wellington Business gave for the production of music videos in the Wellington region. And like the other recipients of the grant, the video doesn’t have an obvious Wellington setting (but behind the scenes is another matter).
“Man for all Seasons” is more of Concord Dawn’s drum and bass sound, with a few lyrics about a man who wasn’t believed. The video is set in a futuristic environment where a lone man is brought out of suspended animation to work on an “inhabitability survey”
He uses touch screens, which are annoying huge and require flamboyant arm gestures from a standing position, a la Minority Report. Contrast this with the iPad, which can be operated with just one finger and you don’t even need to get out of bed to use it. Concord Dawn’s future vision just seems like a recipe for RSI.
It’s a bit hard to figure out what’s going on, due to the low-res version of this video, but this is what I think is happening. The man is running simulation to figure out whether a planet will be inhabitable. The simulation shows the planet going from booming civilisation to crumbling ruins, so the guy gets all sad and returns to his pod. The video ends with the simulation continuing to run, showing a pleasant enviro city rising from the ruins. Well, that inhabitability survey was a bit of a mess.
Best bit: the random shot of the female in suspended animation, wearing a strapless top because future.
Director: Ed Davis
Nga Taonga Sound & Vision
Next… 1.2 litres of beer.
Concord Dawn “Don’t Tell Me”
This is an angry dude anthem. On the main refrain, Tiki Taane snarls, “Don’t tell me what to do! Don’t tell me what to play! I got my own idea and I don’t give a care!” Which makes it seem like he is incapable of saying no, that if someone tells him to do something he doesn’t want to do, he feels compelled to do it anyway. Dude, this is all you need to do. Just say in a really whiny voice, “Oh, I’m gonna have to pass this time. I’ve had a rough week and I need rest. And I have a headache. I’m just gonna have a bath and go to bed.”
“Don’t Tell Me” takes the angry vocals of Tiki and combines it with the angry music of Concord Dawn, and I can imagine this song being popular with 15-year-old boys whose mum has just reminded them again that the lawn still needs mowing.
The action begins in a stark old warehouse. A guy in a white top pulls himself up off the ground and starts sprinting through the warehouse, shot in slow-motion with an bleak blue-grey colour palette. He’s soon joined by two others wearing black. They seem to be in a race, with the coveted leading position being most important at all times.
We then meet Tiki, standing in the same warehouse, being angry by himself. He’s also joined by Concord Dawn, with the three of them standing around while they’re covered with mysterious indoor rain.
I feel like I can’t fully embrace the world of “Don’t Tell Me” because I’m waaay outside the target audience, but eventually the white shirt guy wins the race and Tiki is smiling as he performs, so maybe things aren’t all that bad in angry dude land.
Best bit: the indoor rain – where does it come from?
Director: Andrew Morton
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision
Next… fill ‘er up.
Concord Dawn “Morning Light”
In a way “Morning Light” was a breakout track for Concord Dawn. I remember at the time people who’d never previously listened to drum and bass were in love with its atmospheric charms and the emotion brought into a drum n bass track.
The video takes its inspiration from the lyrical mention of morning light, but the video is primarily based around the tempo and dynamics of the music, as well as the city of Auckland.
The video opens with pretty dawn scenes of the Auckland skyline, an orange sun rising over the dark city silhouette. The sun brightens and clouds float across the sky and it’s all kind of abstract.
But as soon as the big drum and bass bit kicks in, we’re down on the ground – the corner of Queen Street and Victoria Street, to be precise. Supergroove paid a visit to the corner in 1994 for “Sitting Inside My Head”, but they took a chilled out, slow-mo walk across the road. Concord Dawn’s experience is sped-up, capturing the hectic pace of the city.
Then we move onto the roads, with more sped-up action along the North-Western motorway. But this isn’t just a random drive. This journey out west leads to Piha beach for a reflective pause as the sun sets.
Once night is there, we’re off to a live gig, full of people dancing like they just don’t care. With Concord Dawn not being the most visually interesting group to watch perform (two dudes hunched over equipment), it’s a way of capturing the magic of their live shows without requiring them to fake it as big video stars.
Things conclude with some footage of the night sky, dark clouds ominously parting to reveal a full moon.
Best bit: the hoon along the North-Western – the traffic is good.
Next… after hours at the car dealer’s.