The Velvoids collaborate with director Themistocles Lambridis to create a wintery music video that perfectly fits in with the peaceful qualities of single Absolutely Nothing.
The Velvoids love a bit of experimentation, and so it’s no wonder they want every part of the creative process for their music to be perfect, including any accompanying video pieces. Single Absolutely Nothing’s placid pace and airy nature needed something equally satisfying on the video front, so lead singer Vice Lesley and drummer Dorah X turned to Themistocles Lambridis to put something together that would cater for the correct atmosphere.
First of all, lets let’s discuss the music to set the scene. Gentle and serene, the music intro is simple and warm acoustic guitar against icy cold wind sounds. It reminds heavily of The Shins, but think of this crossed with the invention of Marc Bolan amidst fleeting electric guitar snippets and strong melodies. This atmosphere carries on throughout, with vocals keeping a steady 70’s vibe, and by the end warming your heart all the way through.
It’s so chilled that a winter setting obviously had to be what the music video was based around, and The Velvoids asked Themistocles Lambridis without hesitation to direct the piece. Focusing on a harsh winters day up a mountain, Lambridis chose skiing and snowboarding as the centerpiece of the video. But instead of focusing on the speed, trickery, and extreme sport side, the director has cleverly focused on the calmer and gentle aspects to fit in with the serene and peaceful vibe of the accompanying music. You first of all see an extremely cold climate – much colder than you usually see in wintersport videos – against a desolate landscape void of human activity. The shaky camera provides a childlike serenity against the simple guitar tones with shards of light gradually being introduced to the frames as this white world wakes up. As vocals kick in, we’re treated to shots of skiers and snowboarders on their own as they seemingly wake up with the climate, slowly mulling about and enjoying taking everything slow and steady, just like Absolutely Nothing. Music and video share a common bond here: both sound and look like they’re from the 70s, both are happy to amble on with no penchant to rush, and both are pretty and serene. The video ends in contrasting fashion with shots of an evening log fire, showing just how short and sweet both video and music are, and perhaps commenting on the limited time we have to enjoy these perfect moments.
Absolutely Nothing is fully realised by the accompanying winter wonderland music video, with Lambridis cleverly taking out all the speed and craziness of mountain sports, replacing it by a rarely seen tranquil side that fits the single perfectly. Vice and Dorah made the right choice in Lambridis to show off the gentle nature of the track in an inventive way, allowing both music and video to intertwine and form a single entity.
Score: 4/5
By Jamie Parmenter