Posts in Video

Last year I invented an aeronautical research company called Aeolas International. Their sole purpose was to take my Youtube personality hostage and post videos of their scientific findings. Ideally people would think that this was actually happening and I would eventually become mega famous. This didn’t happen exactly as planned, but the process of diving deep into a self initiated project was terrific and something I would highly recommend. I’m excited now to get a chance to further explain the project; the motivations behind it, the process, and what eventually unfolded.

Background

Some of you may know that I am also a musician. Most of the work I have online is design related, but I also maintain a Youtube page where I mainly post covers of my favorite songs. I’ve been posting over there for about 2 years now and some videos have done quite well (150K + views). Most chill somewhere around 15K. Overall it’s been a great way to get my musical side out there and generate a fan base. An example of a “normal” pre-Aeolas video is below.

At the end of last year I decided it was time to switch it up. I was enjoying my periodic recording sessions, but I wasn’t nearly as into it as I was when I started. The market had become significantly more saturated with cover artists and I felt like I was just one of thousands of people doing exactly the same thing. Initially, I felt like I was distinguishing myself with higher quality recording techniques, but even this became relatively commonplace. After an intense brainstorming session, I decided it would be best to invent an old aeronautical research company called Aeolas International that would take me hostage. I didn’t really have much of a plan beyond that when I started.

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I’m still wrapping my head around how cool those videos were that Jakub posted yesterday. In a similar (but stylistically divergent) vein, these clips by Russian artist Maxim Zhestkov are stunning. He’s got a few videos on his Vimeo page, the rest you have the see on his site. If you click the thumbnails above, they will link to their corrosponding video. They all remind me of the Minus the Bear “Planet of Ice” album cover, if everything went completely crazy.

After seeing these videos I know now that if Charles Bergquist is doing visuals for a musician in Brooklyn then i’m there. It’s hard to find good visuals these days at a show, a ton of it seems like bland web archive footage and is always an after thought, i’m really liking the subject matter that Chris chooses and the select and simple effects done that fit the music.

The Young Friends are teens from Arizona, teens!!! like 17 and 18 years old! making surf / 50’s pop, that blows my mind. Okay now that i’m over that and feel like an old man i’m more than happy to have heard them since its the first record that oozes youth and summer flings like having a gusher for the first time. If you like it stream the LP here with a free MP3 and check them out in the video below.

Going from one young band to another The Depreciation Guild are on the other side of teen feelings, the more sentimental teens. The guitars sound like your favorite early 90s dream pop band that you thought might finally fill that void of Slowdive being done.

Ann Arbor, MI / Brooklyn’s Laurel Halo I think made a song that people might of wished what the new Knife album should have sounded like. With her vocals set in the background while she plays dreamy keys (she plays that part live! I saw it, very impressive) I can put this song on repeat day after day.

M.I.A. went for it, her new video is relentless, shocking and NSFW but that doesn’t make me stop loving this track, should be a huge summer hit at the rowdy outdoor rock parties.

This is absolutely everywhere on the internet right now because it is absolutely awesome. The Nike Music Shoe video features Tokyo DJ duo Hifana playing different Nike shoes via bends, bounces, and slams. Easily one of the most creative branding videos I’ve seen in a long while. The last time I got this excited over a soft sell video like this was probably Only the Brave. Talk about inspiring too. After watching Music Shoe I want to run, paint, jam, fly and do just about everything creative I can possibly do.

UPDATE: Wow. They actually were playing the shoes…

A new Onra single is out, for some it might just sound like the Casino level in Sonic The Hedgehog on Sega Genesis but to many of the heads its a solid ode to 90’s R&B.

A sneak peek at the upcoming Solvent LP coming to us via his single that drops next week digitally. Less stiff than previous Solvent releases and a lovingly tame style fills the Lost For Words track, should go over big with new and old Solvent fans.

Samiyam has something that a good chunk of the new wave of beat makers don’t have is the attention to choice samples that makes a song feel like he owns a sound. Samiyam keeps things rough, loose and most important honest, he still makes music he wants to hear and it shows release after release that he’s one of the better beatsmith’s out there.

Can we talk about how genius Eric Wareheim is? just taking an idea that is so simple and embarassing and just running it thru the mud in front of your grandma, this kind of humor will never die.

Warp Films has done it again with a great film on All Tomorrow’s Parties, below are the first 10 minutes of the film and also its available on Warp’s new Download Store, i’m really digging the live footage of The Battles and Belle & Sebastian.

All Tomorrow’s Parties (Opening 10 Minutes) from All Tomorrow's Parties on Vimeo.

Joakim Faxvaag is a Norwegian lighting designer and visualist. He’s been traveling with Phoenix for the past year while constantly evolving the visual aspects of their shows. Joakim is using (among other things) the excellent modular video app VDMX — the same software that I use for visuals during the Tycho shows. To see what he’s been able to do with it is inspiring to say the least.

He lists his setup as follows: “custom quartz patches, 15000 ansi front projector, 6 x dl.2s, 6 x mac 700s, 10 x mac 2000s, 6 x atomics, mac pro running vdmx, kineme artdmx + grandma fullsize ++”. You can see some more examples at Joakim’s site.

Pitchfork debuted Phantogram‘s Mouthful of Diamonds video which the couple are in a pretty nice cabin out in the woods and many odd things go down, I won’t spoil the fun.

I’m not going to try and explain how good is Hammock music video is, you should just check it out yourself, what great treatment and ideas behind each shot, David Altobelli should just go and do a movie now.

Hammock – Breathturn from David Altobelli on Vimeo.

On the music player front Off The Sky reworks Rob Theakston’s cleverly named album I Am Waiting for You to Stop Being Mad at Me, a piece that touches on slow yet busy low level music that reminds me of walks on cold fall afternoons on very jagged terrian, you can download it FREE here.

Black Tambourine throws their hat in as who will put out the best post rock track in 2010 and with Pack You Up they have a very good chance in my book. Look for them and Soft Moon to make it to well versed goth kids mixtapes this year once they tire out the tempo of The Xx.