Have you seen the new video for James Vincent McMorrow’s National?
Well, it’s out in the wild and it’s bloody good. Somewhat ironically, it lands a day after Elon Musk launched a Tesla into space. But this is less about cars in space and more about a quality video for a quality tune.
The setting, the illustration, the story, the production – it’s got everything a music video should be. Hell, it’s a much a short film as it is a music video and worthy of it too.
National comes from True Care, James Vincent McMorrow‘s most recent album offering. It also happens to be nominated for the Choice Music Prize.
Watch: James Vincent McMorrow: National
The man himself paints a much better picture.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, the music video for my song ‘National’, created by Rafael Mayani and Giant Ant”, says JVM of its release.
“Of all the music videos I’ve been part of, I can’t think of one I’m more in love with than this. The song means a lot to me on an incredibly personal level. It’s about the time in my life when I met the person who means more to me than anything else in the world. A moment where I was incredibly lost and felt incredibly alone, and then in the darkness I found another soul. Someone just like me.”
“I knew any video that was made for that song needed to be special. And then Raf showed up, reached into my mind, and created the exact thing that I wanted. He’s my favourite illustrator, the way he sees the world is the way I would like to see the world.”
The Hard Sell
“Normally when I release videos I do everything I can to avoid the hard sell. Everything about my career is based on people coming to my work on their own time and at their own speed. That’s a sentiment I’m very protective of. But I’m going to make an exception with this video. I’m going to ask that if you like it, if it means something to you when you watch it, that you share it with someone who you think might feel the same way. That would mean a lot.”
“Thank you to the team at Giant Ant in Vancouver for making this video happen, it wouldnt exist without them. Thank u to Believe records and Caroline int. for the assist too.”
“Yesterday Elon Musk put a car into space, today Raf put one in space too.”
Where can I see James Vincent McMorrow live?
For the moment, Germany. He embarks on a solo german tour along with Paul Noonan later this month. Dusseldorf is the start point for a seven date trip,finishing in Erlangen on 28 February. Tickets and more details available here.
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