Inspirational fashion, art, movements, films

Some fashion and art movements are quite inspiring and the style seen in them, I feel, can be adapted to the website and the album cover and maybe aspects of the music video.

Surrealism

Surrealist art 

Surrealist Art

Surrealism is the cultural movement which began in the early 1920's, best known for the visual artwork and writings. The aim was to eradicate the idea of dreams and reality being mutually exclusive. Art produced places everyday objects and things in illogical scenes. The unexpected juxtapositions are thought provoking. I really like the idea of a basic image distorted because it begins to add different levels of meaning to something originally quite simple.

Psychedelic Art, Minimalist & Neo-Expressionism 

I also really like art from these 3 art movements (left to right: Neo-Expressionism, Minimalist and Psychedelic Art). Neo-expressionism evokes feelings of recklessness and anti-conformism which I love because I feel the movement captures the freedom art gives the artist to do whatever they want. The abstract nature of minimalism appeals to me because it urges the viewer to interpret it however they feel since it gives very little away. Thirdly, I have always found the kaleidoscope and fractal patterns in psychedelic art really interesting to look at. The way entoptic perceptions are depicted in psychedelic art is very appealing to me because I feel the artwork manages to capture small frequent everyday details which are frequently ignored/dismissed by the eye.

I would find it really interesting to combine different elements of this movements for the website/album cover as although they are all carry the theme of freedom of expression/interpretation which instantly makes me think of youth/youthful quirky performers.


Fashion

I really like bohemian/ethnic fashion and I think it can tie in with the type of music video I would like to make. I also like the idea of layering garments, different fabrics and patterns because its similar to how music videos can have layers of meaning.

Films

Requiem for A Dream

I love the entire Requiem for A Dream film however what I find very cool in particular are the quick snappy shots in the drug taking segments which add to the impulsive nature of drug taking. I think attention to using fast/slow paced shots could help create certain feelings and moods 

Enter the Void

Enter the Void is a film that forces the viewer to constantly be thinking but concentrating which I think is really interesting. There is a clear link between the film and the psychedelic art movement which I find interesting as its a reassurance of being able to link a video with art.

General Visuals

Kojey Radical - The Garden Party

Layeredscreens

I like the entire look of this video. They managed to create a very clear aesthetic and hold it throughout. I'm particularly interested in some parts of the video like when the two screens are layered (1:32). I think it works really well with the two shots which are very different (long shot and a close up) but since that have the same forest setting there is still some sort of unity between the different shots.

Amalgamation | A Short Film


I think this video is really cool, its strange and slightly sci-fi which I am inspired by and would like to explore. I like the random blur, jolts and switches between the pace - I think in a music video they could be used if you wanted to give quite a disorientating experience to the viewer.

Suitable Tracks for the Single

Baring in mind some of the restrictions but also the style I envision for my music video, here are some potential tracks I'd like to look into doing:

• I like the chill vibe of this song and feel like although its talking about a couples failings, it can easily be centered around a female lead.
• I already really like the video for this song and think it would be quite a challenge to create something different to it
• The song is also quite short so would be easy to work with

• I really like the idea of a narrative music video and feel like this is a great song and one which a lot of different story-lines could be extracted from
• The song title is called 'Retrogade' which means negatively moving backwards. I really like the idea of a music video in reverse which I have seen done a couple times and would like to explore the idea of a the girl who is being talked about, regressing to a poorer mental state from happiness, in reverse.

Clip from Alt-J video, Breezeblocks. The dispute between a couple is
shown in reverse.

• I quite like the openness of this track, it sounds quite romantic but can also be perceived as quite sad, so it would be interesting to explore the different layers of the song.
• The title 'digital kids' is inextricably linked to our current generation of teenagers and I feel this would be quite interesting and current to explore. 

• I really like this song and it has quite a stripped back 'rustic' feel. Although I think the music video for it already is really cool, I feel like it could be explored further through a narrative. 
• The instruments through the track which almost sound like the beating of a clock could be looked into and something quite interesting could come out of it.

Inspirational Album Covers

I don't really pay much attention to album covers, but I know that if I saw the following they would be instantly recognisable and so when me and my group make our album cover I hope it has the same effect.

Arist: Cocorosie
Album: God Has A Voice She Speaks Through Me

I really like the album cover because it fully reflects the songs on the album. A lot of them appear light-hearted and magical (unicorns) on the surface but they have quite political and serious undertones (the women in the  burqas). I feel the layering of all the images has been done very intelligently and if you focus enough you can almost pick out every individual picture.
The idea of layering imagery is one which know I find quite intriguing and will be interested to play with when it comes to our album covers.

Artist: Kanye West
Album: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

There are many different amazing covers for this album but I particularly liked this one. I like the forging of the classicist and cubist art movements and I think it works well with the meaning of the image. Kanyes head with a knife could show although he might an amazing rapper (which is shown throughout the grammy winning album) people still want him dead. It directly relates to some of his song lyrics like in the song Power there is a lyric stating "You've got the power to let power go" so maybe by decapitating himself before people forcefully do it, is shown through this image. Still, I love how thought-provoking this album cover (and all the other album covers for MBDTF) is. I am inspired by his ability to spark up such a conversation simply by his album artwork and not even any of his songs, and would therefore love to emulate it.

Artist: XXYYXX
Album: XXYYXX

This is a really simple album cover but I still think its really cool. Immediately the Eye of Providence is recognisable and with the name of the artist/album beneath it its hard to remove the image from your head. The tear coming from the eye makes it look like an Egyptian hieroglyph which usually had very great meanings. Here, the english alphabet paired with a hieroglyph gives the artwork quite a circular feel of past and present and the minimalism with the colour and the whole thing is quite futuristic.
This could show XXYYXX music (or music in general) is eternal. Again, I really like a simple thought-provoking album cover.

Artist: The XX
Album: Coexist

I really like the simplicity of this album cover, it relates to the artist and their previous album and reflects the music in the fact its quite minimalist and simple but still really nice. The songs in coexist discuss themes of loneliness, intimacy and heartbreak; all experiences which conjure up a variety of emotions and I feel like the iridescent colouring within the X is a symbol of this.
This album cover influences me because it reminds me that less can always be more.




From looking at these album covers I know that when we come to design our album cover I want it to have a message and a strong aesthetic.

Inspirational/Influential Music Videos and Artists

In one of my previous posts I spoke about a gap in the market for a female artists who is more quirky and forward-thinking as oppose to sticking to current trends and conventions and I feel that a few less well known artists have these attributes.

Telana

Shes a very talented singer with quite a striking look and doesn't feel the need to wear minimal clothing and I respect that. I also really like the entire vibe of her video, the purple and pink lighting and background give it a very chilled, gentle vibe. Her use of archived footage also looks really interesting and works with the song but doesn't distract from what shes singing about. 

FKA Twigs

Another quite unknown artist who is similar to Telana in the way of being one of a kind is FKA Twigs. She has an amazing look and stays true to herself in all her videos.

SZA

I really like this video, it takes its time before you realise what is going on but its still quite enticing nevertheless and the lyrics help to understand. I like that although she is taking off some of her clothes in this video, its in no way sexualised and so doesn't take away from what happens in the video. A lot of music videos of female artists frequently have close up beauty shots of the artists face but I love the idea of only having the 3 shots showing her face before she is immersed in the water, and this influences me to challenge conventions in similar ways. 

Audiences

I asked member of different age groups some questions about their personal music consumption to understand what I need to do to access different age brackets.

Age: 18
Gender: Female
Favourite Genres: Rap, Drum and Bass, House, Old R&B
Artists: Miley Cyrus, Lauryn Hill, Azealia Banks, Wilkinson, Sky Ferreira
How do you acquire the music you listen to: Download the music sometimes but otherwise just listen on YouTube
According to the expanded theory of Uses and Gratifications (which I explained) what purposes do you listen to music for: Surveillance, Personal Identity, Diversion

Age: 17
Gender: Male
Artists: Kanye West, Chance the Rapper, Krept and Konan, Bashy, SZA, Frank Ocean, BBK
Favourite Genres: Rap, Hip-Hop, Neo-Soul, R&B, Grime
How do you acquire the music you listen to: Soundcloud, YouTube, Occasionally download
According to the expanded theory of Uses and Gratifications (which I explained) what purposes do you listen to music for: Surveillance, Diversion, Personal Identity

Age: 22
Gender: Female
Artists: Lauryn Hill
Favourite Genres: R&B
How do you acquire the music you listen to: Illegally download, Car Radio
According to the expanded theory of Uses and Gratifications (which I explained) what purposes do you listen to music for: Personal Identity

Age: 24
Gender: Male
Artists: Justin Timberlake, The Weeknd
Favourite Genres: R&B
How do you acquire the music you listen to: iTunes Store
According to the expanded theory of Uses and Gratifications (which I explained) what purposes do you listen to music for: Diversion, Personal Identity (and for to listen to the beats in the music and how its been produced)

Age: 51
Gender: Female
Artists: John Legend, Beyonce, Whitney Houston, Miguel, Luther Vandor, Michael Vandros
Favourite Genres: Jazz, Pop, Classical, Hip Hop and R&B
How do you acquire the music you listen to: Radio, CD
According to the expanded theory of Uses and Gratifications (which I explained) what purposes do you listen to music for: Diversion

From collecting this research its clear that teenagers will be the best group to target for a music video. They consume a lot of their music online and it appears they have a more personal relationship with music as they personally relate to it and learn from it a lot more than those older than them. I feel like the music video I would like to make should stir up some thoughts and feelings in the viewer and give them lots to talk and think about, something which teenagers would more likely do.

Current Trends in Popular Music/Gaps In The Market/Genres of Interest

Trends in music transition into each other as the year go by and are interesting to watch similar aspects being incorporated across the years if a timeline was to be made. Since its such a broad topic I feel like its easy to look at trends amongst female and male artists.

Solo female artists are currently a lot more influential than they were a few years ago, and although its refreshing to see, I feel like there is a theme getting repeated by female artists that has become trendy, it is seen in the following video's (warning: explicit content) :

Although these videos can be seen as women embracing their sexual agency and being confident, I feel that its so overplayed and is an easy way to grab the attention of audiences; women (who are jealous or in admiration) or men (who enjoy looking at beautiful women) and therefore have a successful video. In my opinion, big female artists like Nicki Minaj, Beyonce and Katy Perry (and others who's video's aren't seen here like Rihanna, Iggy Azalea) could think of more creative interesting video's.


Perhaps this is why there is a clear favour at the moment for male singers/bands as they are dominating the charts - each artist is quite different in his own rite but still manages to make good quality music.

UK Top 10 Male Dominated Album Charts

I feel there is a clear gap in the market for a interesting quirky female artists who does something different

I have a very eclectic music taste and usually enjoy music from all genres however I rarely consume a lot of music from the genres in the charts. At the moment I'm particularly into Rap, Trip-Hop, Electronic, Drum and Bass, Post-Punk, Indie Rock and Neo-Soul. A lot of the music I listen to incorporates music from different genres and I'd be interested in choosing an artist who does similar

King Krule - A Lizard State
I like his music a lot and it falls under so many genres such as indie rock, punk jazz, jazz fusion, post-punk, hip-hop, darkwave.

Record Labels

By definition, a record label is "a brand or trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos."

Majority of large record companies are large conglomerates that own a number of subsidiary record labels that operate beneath them.

Organisation of a large record label

Usually a very large record label looks similar to this, they are quite hierarchical

Some of the less obvious roles are in charge of:

A&R (artists and repetorire) - in charge of discovering new talent. A&R work quite hands-on with artists they decide to sign; from song selection to choosing where and how the album will be recorded. The people under this department bridge the gap between the recording artist and the other departments in the company

New Media - in charge of dealing with the newer aspects of the music business including promoting and producing music videos. They often help the artist create an Internet presence and investigates new technologies in which artists can stream music/music videos through the Internet.

Artist Development - in charge of planning the artists careers, although many record labels in more recent years have gotten rid of Artist Development departments due to the overtaking idea of the artist being more of a 'product.' Therefore more and more departments have renamed this department "Product Development." It generally promotes and publicises the artist over the course of their career, particularly in the beginning

Record Label Liaison -  this is usually one person or a small group of people who liaise between the record companies distribution company and the record company. They help to decide when to release and album and make sure theres no conflicts with any of the other labels the record company may own.

Major UK Record Labels:

If an artists is signed to a major UK record label, they usually only get 10-15% royalties on their own music. This too is only given to them once all debt has been paid back to the record label (for tours, album artwork, CD's etc).

Indie Record Label
Young Turks is a British Independent record label which was launched by Caius Pawson under XL Recordings and is growing to be quite a successful label.
The artists are slightly more underground for example: FKA Twigs, SBTRKT, Sampha, The XX, Jamie XX etc, but the individuality of each of these artists allows them to be good competitors with some more mainstream artists, without the amount of financial backing that a more generic mainstream artist would need.



Independent Artist: Macklemore and Ryan Lewis

Artists Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, most famous for their songs 'Thrift Shop' and 'Can't Hold Us' are very famous yet independent artists. They believe there in the importance of creative control always and that no amount of money is equivalent to that.  With social media such as Twitter and YouTube, they feel like there is no need to be signed to get them onto channels like MTV because people hardly consume music like that anymore anyway.

Labels which produce a lot of my favourite music:

"Top Dawg Entertainment" 
TDE is an independent American recorded label which was founded in 2004 by Anthony Tiffth. There are only 7 members: Jay Rock, SZA, Isaiah Rashad, Black Hippy, Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q and one of my favorite artists Ab-Soul. They are mainly singers and rappers from the hip-hop and neo-soul genre although I feel they aren't your typical rappers because they rap/sing about more interesting things as oppose to more commercial rappers who rap about money and women. This is why I enjoy their music more.





"Real Playaz"

Real Playaz is a drum and bass and Jungle record label with known DJ's such as DJ Hazard, DJ Hype, Original Sin and Sub Zero. Occasionally music by this record label will be played on Radio 1 and Kiss but the DJs are more well known for their performances at Fabric Nightclub.

What is selling well?

The music I would be interested in making is usually not the type you'd find in the charts but it is interesting to see what's selling well and what aspects of it could be adapted to suit what I envision for my music video.

There is quite a variation amongst the popular music in the UK and although dance music is becoming a lot more popular, In my opinion I think the reason Pop songs still reign is because they appeal to all ages, especially those in early teens who are willing to pay for CD's and who's parents will pay for concerts, and 30-40 year old adults who like to sing along to popular songs. 

Its also apparent that if you're a UK artist you're immediately more likely to do better than if you're a foreign artist as, 80% of Top 10 albums are from UK artists, UK and International male artists seem to dominate the album charts with 60% presence in the Top 10. 

The rise of the Internet in the past couple of years and the increasing use of social media means that artists on a tighter budget can showcase themselves as people more and reach out on a more personal level to fans, which will may then translate into sales.

What kind of music video would you like to make?

I think I am mostly interested in making a narrative style/quite abstract music video like the following examples:

Juce - Call You Out

• A mixture between HD modern style shots and VHS shots
• A clear narrative with quite a youthful them
• The addition of shots which don't necessarily add to the story but help build ideas of characters e.g. 1:42 smoking shot, which immediately shows the male character is quite rebellious and cheeky
• This video gives gratification to the viewer because we learn about both the girls and their friendship so when they are separated by the boy the audience member has an emotional reaction but when the friendship is fixed the viewer receives pleasure from this.

Clams Casino - I'm God

• Although this video has no clear narrative and it doesn't directly relate to the lyrics, I think the eerie uncertain atmosphere in the video mimics the uncertainty and ambiguity created by the lyrics. I really like the idea of drawing on one small aspect/theme of the lyrics and using it as an extended motif throughout the video

Lana Del Rey - National Anthem

• I like the vintage feel this video still manages to create even though its high quality.
• I also like the montage of family clips that don't actually follow a chronological order but help to create a clear picture of who the people are so you can emotionally connect with them.. 

White Lies - Bigger Than Us

• This is a narrative which is quite abstract but quite clear
• I think its really interesting how characters in the narrative are miming the words to the song but the people around them don't react

Semiotic Analysis: Flying Lotus - Until The Quiet Comes

• I like the clear urban setting throughout the entire video and the darkish yellow lighting because it helps to create a mood.
• The use of water/liquid as an extended metaphor throughout really ties all parts of the video together and helps to create the story. Through the shots of just water we see a clear symbol of his death and resurrections. Then his fluid water-like contemporary dance movements help to illustrate his celebration of his escape from his community but also the sadness of his death.
• There is a use of juxtaposing imagery of contemporary dancing in a ghetto environment it makes the music video more interesting. 
• The beginning of the video starts with a child in a very vast space raising gun fingers, this could be a symbol of how children in America join gangs thinking they have a family but there are ultimately alone. The music in the back at this point mirrors a lullaby to remain on the theme of children, however its a lot more eerie as its singing over the death of the child.
• The red sky at 1:30 above the children playing is used as quite a harrowing image. Children are often taught that sky is the limit so they reach for the sky, but the sky of the children in the ghetto is dark, resembling bloodshed which could be symbolic of their inescapable doom, simply because they are young black children.
• The child walking along the railings at 1:36 with the buildings and high lights in the background, looks a lot like a person walking around whilst they are in prison. This could again show the doom of the youth in the area.
• Finally, the way the community don't react when the boy is dead and dancing around works to show that they are so used to loss in the area they cant even feel anything towards it any more.

From doing this semiotic analysis, I have noticed that there are a lot of visual ideas that you can embed into a music video to give it more layers of meaning without being glaringly obvious. This will be quite helpful when making my own video.

Reasearch and Planning: My Music Consumption

I would say 70% of my day I am listening to music. Whether I am doing work with in in the background, commuting or anything of that sort where I can play music. I really
like music and think its really important so I listen whenever I get the chance.

My iTunes

I usually listen to music on my soundcloud (which I really like because its so easy to discover good new music), my iTunes, my phone (which has a more condensed version of the music on my iTunes) or sometimes on YouTube.

Before and after school, I use music to pass time on my journey, particularly after school  because I have quite a long walk home. I find that when I'm at school and choose to put my headphones in it would be if I really wanted to concentrate and block out any surrounding noise distractions. The time of music I listen to when I'm doing work usually has no words because I find it would become distracting and I'd start singing along if it did.

My Soundcloud

If I'm getting ready to go out I don't really tend to listen to music because I am usually rushing to get ready and if music was playing I'd start dancing/sweating which would waste time/not be very nice. However once I'm actually going out to a party/to see a friend and I'm on public transport I probably listen to more upbeat music because it'll put me in a good mood for time ahead. 

Me and my best friends have a group soundcloud where we put all the music we find because its easier than linking it to each other on Facebook or iMessage. I find that my group of friends all have similar music tastes which makes it really nice when we go to music festivals because we usually want to see the same artists/bands and can therefore have nicer and more memorable experiences altogether. I really enjoy live music because usually on an individual level I would have made a connection with a song and then experiencing it performed live, with my friends around me always makes it more special and unforgeable; so I go to gigs when I can.

I think I listen music for quite a few reasons

• Distraction/Escapism - if I am thinking something that I don't want to think and I just want to block it out, I put on quite loud music in some sensory overload attempt which hopefully means I won't be able to think about what was bothering me even if I tried. 
• Maintain a good mood/Wallow in self pity - If I'm in a really good mood or a really bad mood, I rarely listen to music to change my mood. Rather, if I'm happy I will just continue to listen to happy music or if I'm sad I am very comfortable listening to an entire playlist of sad music and feeling sorry for myself. 
• Add music to a gathering - I think even if I'm with one friend, I will always put on music because then if there is nothing to talk about I just think its nice to sit in silence, listen to music and enjoy each others company. 

3 tracks that mean a lot to me:

Childhood

I remember watching this music video on TV and thinking it was really cool. I also remember knowing all  the words to it with my brothers and sister and my older brother helping me to put it on my first phone.

Early Teens

When I was around 13-15 me and my best friends loved Paramore and went to see them twice and this was the song that we all knew the words to and had on our phones.

Currently

This song means a lot to me at the moment because it reminds me of a lot of special people and things in my life at the moment and the lyrics relate as well.

From looking into my own music consumption, I have understood that there is a lot more to consuming music than just playing a song and listening to it. I will bare this in mind with my own project.