A still from “Love Demons” by Peter Cat Recording Co.
9 Impressive Indie Music Videos
It is a scientifically proven fact that light travels faster than sound which means that you get to see things before you hear them – just like you see the lightning before the thunder. No, don’t read twice, we are still talking about the indie music scene in India. It’s just that we want to shift your focus to the visual delights that some of the videos offer. Why are we telling you this? If you think about it, it only means that if a song is produced, and a subsequent video is created, chances are that the video will have more of a magic bullet-like effect than the song. Maybe that, or maybe because people are lazy consumers and will only listen to music by staying put.
So, at times, music videos help spread the song out to a far greater number of audiences. A song gets recall value by its video. Here’s a list of some of the latest music videos created by Indian indie artistes/bands that stood out in such a pronounced manner that the old scientific saying got reinforced. And that the videos are as promising a watch as the songs are a listen.
Shot using stop-motion animation of pulses, grains and legume models (called Rajmation), the video for “Wahe Guru” is not only an astonishing piece of videography but also asserts faith in agrarianism for a country that heavily relies on it. Created by Paper Dragon Studio over a span of two months, this video took assistance from 18 animators to reach its final product.
[avideo videoid=”2zjGxmQ-uhM”]
“Balma” – Maatibaani ft. Mr. Francois & Various Artistes
The nomads of world music Maatibaani, comprising Nirali Kartik and Kartik Shah, are poignant musicians who find solace in collaborating with the musicians of varied cultures from across the world (read about them here). In “Balma”, which is shot in many picturesque pockets of the world like Toulon Les Bains (France), Delhi (India), London (UK), Mumbai (India) and Auckland (New Zealand), you’d be surprised at the melange of instruments coming together for a love song.
Audio-visual electronica collective BLOT! and hand shadowgrapher Amar Sen came together to create a video of their song “Aaina” ft. Suryakant Sawhney of Peter Cat Recording Co. for an episode of The Dewarists. The video has an effect of diminishing the existence of time and space and throws one into a delirium; a world defined by changing landscapes and seamless black and white animation.
The Fuck-That-Shit guy is gaining so much popularity that one wouldn’t imagine he’s indie bred. The video of “Akkad Bakkad” showcases a fantastically lewd politician, dripping of hypocrisy, who gets morally policed by a bunch of youngsters. With snazzy cuts, a loose English translation of the lyrics on screen, and a plan to expose the corrupt, the video exhibits a devil-may-care charm.
Sky Rabbit’s frontman Raxit Tewari’s solo project Your Chin recently came out with a new EP titled Scatter Nature (Read our review here). One of the four tracks, “Run Along Little One”, was made into a video; a video with minimal camera movement and minimalistic editing. But impressive aesthetics of the visuals coupled with lyrics on screen, (which seems to be a thing; perhaps in the hope that more people connect with the lyrics) the groovy song gives one an impression of sleeping in the open air under the comforting presence of twinkling stars.
At first, it feels as though you’re listening and watching American rockers Alter Bridge until the Hindi lyrics kick in. The indispensability of the lyrics make the song comes into its own. It’s after that that you start observing the nitty-gritties of Coshish’s attempt of peppering elements of mysticism into the blurry-lights of the music video that guide the viewer into the story of a boy trying to find something of his past.
Microphon3, aka Tanmay Bahulekar’s kitschy and stunningly macabre view of the city of Mumbai is in his words, an ode to the city he loves. Compelling visuals of a paper boat being thrown into a bath tub of crimsoned water, a sin-citied bowl of goldfish, and lagged beat-matching lend the video an identity of its own. Indie rap clearly is getting a more powerful voice than before (read here).
The song stands for a message – that why one shouldn’t celebrate old age in a world where everyone is rejoicing the spirit of the youth. The video simply complements it. Swarathma’s ideas are clear cut. With simple story telling and slice of life visuals of people above the age group of 55, you’re narrated a moving tale with an underlying message that – Rang Zinda Hai, regardless of the age.
Called a ‘B Grade Technicolor extravaganza’ on its YouTube link, the video frankly does not make much sense. But the scheming of colour presented by Bolly-jazz band Peter Cat Recording Co. (read here) paints a splendid picture of a Kafkaesque experience; surrealistic, befuddling yet bewitching. It represents imagery where the night skies hug the long and arid desert sand, which is followed by the coming alive of a dance bar. Trippaayy!
[avideo videoid=”CfqcempydxY”]
To read our list of the most scandalous music videos internationally, click here.