Out today! The third promotional video from the album When Push Comes To Shove for the track “Fate’s Got A Bone To Pick With You”. This was a very involved project, spending time make a model city and filming it with a lot of smoke machine, effects and lighting. The video was produced by Flustervision, a partnership between myself and Glasgow-based video artist Georgina Penstkart.
At the beginning this track was just a concept for a bass line that I had in my head, whereby I was wanting to make baseline with a less defined tonal centre. This was achieved by pitching up the second oscillator on the bass synth line up one major third for most of the track. Overall the track as a more stark, atmospheric feel than the others on the album.
Most of the track names on “When Push Comes To Shove” are based on semi-cryptic English-language phrases and idioms and keeping in line with how I’ve named tracks over the years. This title comes from the phrase “a bone to pick”, which means having an issue or grievance with someone or something. The lyrics refer to two protagonists; “he” in the first set of verses and “she” in the second set that have had problems achieving their potential due to traumatising events or negative outside influence.
The general sound and tone of the song let to the initial ideas for the video that came as some visuals in my head; an impression of a city that one gets lost in — a vague dreamlike state of one bridging the gap between dreaming and their daily environment. From there it was the task of trying to practically convey those ideas on film so the idea of making a city that was obviously fake but obscured in light and shadow. It was fun, practical task to do as it so far on of the videos I’ve done that has had minimal computer graphics and compositing done to, as well as being an amateur experiment in how modelling and special FX were done with physical models and lighting. This video is also a new production that’s part of a collaborative partnership called Flustervision, including myself and Glasgow video artist Georgina Penstkart.