Owain Elidir Williams
Despite the slow disappearance of music videos, our fascination with the visual language remains. A carefully curated music video withholds the capacity to enhance an artist’s creative fluency and pave the way for their conceptualized vision. Visual and sonic outputs are two contrasting mediums of art, but they are rarely considered to be independent.
An artist’s image is consumed through visual artwork, multimedia interaction, performances and of course their investment in music videos. In many ways, music videos are the catalyst in the listener-artist relationship as it’s an exaggerated expression of their (shared) beliefs. Do music videos hold a unique significance in Wales? Here’s my take of the 6 best visual commentary.
Griff Lynch – Hir Oes Dy Wen
On the back of a revolutionary Euro’s campaign, creative adrenaline was in abundance. Griff epitomized the hazy, lazy Sunday vibe with his soothing single ‘Hir Oes Dy Wen’. Layering the narrative of boredom and procrastination, we discover that Griff is in fact a metaphor for his own monotony as the ‘actual’ artist walks on set as the song draws to its close. Boundary pushing and though-provoking creativity.
Kim Hon – Pry Yn Y Gwynt
Following the rise of home recordings, there seems to be an unsurprising growth in home music videos. Curadur have the beautiful knack of capturing the original habitat of an artist through their intimate, acoustic sessions. Performing without rules, restrictions or visual tricks, the seemingly single-take video of Kim Hon’s unreleased song offers a similar setting to the stunning short films of La Blogothèque.
HMS Morris – Babanod
Directed by Griff Lynch, shot by Dafydd Hughes and set at the Expo’70 Commemorative Park in Osaka; ‘Babanod’ had all the ingredients to connect the song’s connotation of self-identity through a visual medium. It certainly delivered.
Hyll – Womanby II
Hyll’s love affair with Clwb Ifor Bach is special. It’s hard not to get drawn in by the beautifully put together mash up of the grainy, glitchy, lovingly lo-fi takes of Womanby II. Play. Rewind. Play…
Adwaith – Fel i Fod
Self-directed and shot in Cardiff, ‘Fel i Fod’ has a minimalist visual concept to the accompanying lyricisms of self-doubt and confusion. As Hollie explains “it’s about realising you’ll be okay even if you don’t feel okay all the time”. Abstract yet powerful.
Papur Wal – Yn Y Weriniaeth Tsiec
A comprehensive list of music videos would not be complete without bringing Papur Wal into the mix. ‘Watching’ a new song is a rare sensation in today’s music ecosystem but when done well, the artform is unparalleled. Appealing to a certain cult within the Welsh language music scene, the chroma key magic of ‘Yn Y Weriniaeth Tsiec’ illustrates that the experimental nature of visual art is on the rise in Wales.