Welcome to FACT’s newest feature: the weekly video round-up.
As we note at the end of every year, music videos have never been better. But too often, music videos — along with documentaries, live sets and interview clips — get lost in the shuffle of news and new music.
With that in mind, FACT is doing what it does for mixes, mixtapes, vinyl and more: rounding up the internet’s best videos on a weekly basis. And to remove our bias, we won’t be including our own content — you’ll have to stay tuned to FACT TV for all your Against The Clock, FACT Freestyle and Big Narstie needs.
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SHABAZZ PALACES
‘Forerunner Foray’
Dir: Christian Petersen
The left-field hip-hop duo shared this stunning clip, featuring drawings by Sub Pop labelmate Chad Vangaalen. The animated mutations touch on everything we think of when listening to Shabazz Palaces; it’s psychedelic, post-apocalyptic, and intergalactic, but playful, too. Magic Johnson surfing on pizza in space… why not?
CATT MOOP & TENNIS RODMAN
‘Goh’
Dir: Tennis Rodman
Welcome to the twisted world of Tennis Rodman. The video for the frazzled grime banger ‘Goh’ (a collaboration with HYDRABADD’s Catt Moop) plays out like a half-finished video game where 3D mo-cap, augmented reality, Matrix code, live footage and brand logos fight for your attention… just as the drugs kick in. Rodman assembled the clip, bringing together a pair of videographers he met outside a Yung Lean show and designers AY/o/EL and Angel Fausto.
KRYSTAL KLEAR FEAT. YASMIN
‘One Night Only
Dir: Kevin Calero
Striking the right balance of retro and modern, the video for the 80s-flavored ‘One Night Only’ has enough neon washes, kaleidoscopic treatments and choreographed routines to keep up with the song’s vivid electro-boogie grooves.
CLAUDE SPEEED
‘Some Other Guy’
Dir: Peter Marsden
Claude Speeed’s eery drones soundtrack stark, gravity-less footage of New York at 3am. LuckyMe Studio’s Peter Marsden describes the film as an “archaeological document from a modern archive, showing the city in portrait as a living organism,” and it certainly has the reserved serenity of a nature documentary.
LORD NARF FEAT. SLUG CHRIST
‘SPACESHIP*NAVIGATION’
Dir: Phorii
Awful Records reps Lord Narf and Slug Christ rap and dance their way through the nighttime clip for this standout collaboration, with the creepy VHS effects often favored by the pair.
THEESATISFACTION
‘Recognition’
Dir: Tiona McClodden
Another dispatch from Sub Pop’s hip-hop wing plays like the earthbound counterpoint to the Shabazz Palaces video. The subjects (including artist Xenobia Bailey) demand recognition with the aid technology, personal artifacts and a deep vein of Afrofuturism.
CHILDISH GAMBINO
‘Sober’
Dir: Hiro Murai
Donald Glover flaunts a few of his many talents in the video for ‘Sober’. His acting experience and MJ-inspired dance moves come in handy as he tries to impress a girl but remains equal parts weird, creepy and awkward. Alien pick-up artist or stoned loner, you decide.
SIA
‘Elastic Heart’
Dir: Sia & Daniel Askill
Sia reunited with director Daniel Askill and preteen dance sensation Maddie Ziegler (the team behind her best-of-2014 clip ‘Chandelier’) for ‘Elastic Heart’, bringing actor / performance artist Shia LaBeouf along for the emotionally-charged ride. And while the outrage machine was quick to jump on this one, Sia maintains that the actors represent “two warring ‘sia’ self states,” which seems clear enough for us.
LOGAN SAMA, SKEPTA, STORMZY & THE SQUARE
Boiler Room London Live Set
Forget the think pieces: grime is flourishing, with exciting music coming from all corners and lanes. With that in mind, Logan Sama has teamed with Boiler Room for a series of only-for-the-heads sessions at the legendary ICA bar. First up: Skepta, Stormzy and The Square.
GHOSTFACE KILLAH
Pitchfork Over/Under
The inimitable Wu-Tang legend steps up for the Over/Under series with hilarious, illuminating results. Tony Starks weighs in on Obama, foot massages, police brutality, ballet… and Bill Cosby’s “fuck problem.”
