Comprised of Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon and members of Collections of Colonies of Bees, American indie rock band Volcano Choir have released a new music video for “Tiderays.” The track off their second LP Repave, released last year, has been artistically reimagined in the new video.
The video was created as part of a two day, five band project called the 551 project where bands collaborated in the creation of music videos. Other bands participating in the 551 project included John Chi, Victor DeLorenzo, Grace Weber, and Vic and Gab. Volcano Choirs and 551 are not Justin Vernon’s only collaborative side projects recently. He also joined up with members of Arcade Fire and The Strokes earlier this week for a mini basketbal/musical experiment in an off-kilter supergroup session at the Pop vs. Jock Event in Montreal. Last month, Vernon also announced the debut album from his new band Jason Feathers, composed of himself and rapper Astronautalis. Creative connections have been firing at warp speed for Vernon and this latest collab birthed a visually captivating music video.
The “Tiderays” video opens with a white screen, joie de vivre silhouettes dancing in a kind of tug of war circle in the middle. As their lithe figures split apart, leaping and pirouetting in all directions, eventually joining back into a single circle, their dancing shapes are filled with the visuals of ocean waves crashing. The video reflects the collaborative nature of the 551 project which Pitchfork quotes the press release describing,
“The belief that camaraderie leads to creativity is a key principle of 551. The project was the focused minds of dozens of filmmakers– cinematographers, gaffers, grips, actors, directors, and musicians– working to create for the sake of creating and growing as artists together. The fact that every member of the project donated their time and talent to these five bands fostered a smooth experience and a notably positive and friendly atmosphere – despite the controlled chaos of filming five different music videos with a massive crew among two sound stages at RDI Stages.”