PJ Harvey has released new video for her song “The Orange Monkey,” off of her April released album The Hope Six Demolition Project. The video is directed by the award-winning photo-journalist and film-maker Seamus Murphy. Since the album’s release it has sat atop the UK charts and the #1 album. The video was shot in Afghanistan and it follows two other video that were released from The Hope Six Demolition Project, “The Wheel” and “The Community of Hope.” All three of these videos have been directed by Murphy and have all seen a great deal of success. The video can be streamed below.
Murphy had this to say on his work for the video in his Director’s notes.
With the films I make for Polly Harvey’s music I try to reflect the song’s tune and mood, which means tapping into emotion. I find emotion a truer compass than intellect when it comes to finding images and creating sequences for music.
The Orange Monkey has warm, earthen colours with a pleasant, unrushed feel to it. There’s an underlying melancholy, which is leavened by the strength and energy of the Afghan people. We know there is tragedy but what we see is resilience.
All the material for the film was shot in Afghanistan over two trips I made in 2012 and one in 2014. In December 2012 Polly joined me and we travelled together in Afghanistan. Places featured are Kabul, Parwan, Nangarhar and Helmand Provinces.
The country is different each time; different politics, different conditions, different dangers and then there’s the physical differences brought about by the change in seasons. Songs gets drawn from many experiences and events in a writer’s life and some elements could equally fit other songs about other things. Films work in similar ways. Would the shot of the baker drinking his Chai Sabz (green tea) be any different had it been taken on an earlier or later trip? This film comes from work made over several recent trips but also from a reservoir of memories dating back to my first visit to Afghanistan in 1994.
PJ Harvey and her band are set to perform a number of festival dates that stretch across Europe over the summer as well as a couple of shows in the United States. These festivals include, all in this month, Primavera Sound, ahead of London’s Field Day on Sunday the 12, and a return to Glastonbury on Sunday the 26, twelve years after her last appearance at Worthy Farm. This will be her first time making an appearance back in the U.S. in five years and she will be performing at Terminal 5 in New York City and Shrine Expo Hall in Los Angeles. A full list of tour dates can be found below.
PJ Harvey Tour Dates:
June 4 – Primavera Sound, Barcelona, Spain
June 5 – We Love Green Festival, Paris, France
June 7 – Release Athens, Athens, Greece
June 8 – Zorlu Performing Arts Centre, Istanbul, Turkey
June 10 – Primavera Sound, Porto, Portugal
June 12 – Field Day, London, United Kingdom
June 17 – Sideways Festival, Helsinki, Finland
June 18 – Ahmad Tea Music Festival, Moscow, Russia
June 20 – Zitadelle Spandau, Berlin, Germany
June 22 – INMusic, Zagreb, Croatia
June 24 – Down The Rabbit Hole, Beuningen, Netherlands
June 26 – Glastonbury, United Kingdom
June 27 – Eden Sessions, Cornwall, United Kingdom
June 29 – Open’er Festival, Gdynia, Poland
June 30 – Roskilde Festival, Denmark
July 2 – Rock Werchter, Werchter, Belgium
July 3 – Beauregard Festival, Herouville St Clair, France
July 7 – Pohoda Festival, Trenčín, Slovakia
July 8 – Harvest of Art Festival, Vienna, Austria
August 11 – OYA, Oslo, Norway
August 12 – Way Out West, Gothenburg, Sweden
August 16 – Terminal 5, New York City, NY (SOLD OUT)
August 18 – Shrine Expo Hall, Los Angeles, CA
November 6 – Iceland Airwaves, Reykjavi
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