Jaga Jazzist: "Day" Video
Related Videos
This installment of the Week in a Minute brings teenage witchcraft, a giant praying mantis, and the death of the Blackberry. The Week in a Minute is a cut-and-paste compilation of some of our favorite videos from the past week.
1.)
Jaga Jazzist: "Animal Chin"
2.)
"Tamara" trailer
3.)
Sarah Harmer: "I Am Aglow"
4.)
Hillary for president?
5.)
Zion I: "The Bay"
6.)
Is Army near breaking point?
7.)
"Akeelah and the Bee" trailer
8.)
The French Maids present: "How to Video Podcast"
9.)
Miss America, on her platform
10.)
Funki Porcini: "What Are You Looking At?"
11.)
Singing the BlackBerry blues
12.)
"Unknown White Male" trailer
13.)
Gnocchi, featuring "orange rescue"
14.)
Amon Tobin: "Four Ton Mantis"
Click
here for the Week in a Minute archive.
This heart racing tune from Jaga Jazzist is a gem of rough animation. Plus, there are lots of zebras. This video is from "Zen TV," a collection of videos from Ninja Tune that includes some of the biggest figures in electronic
music, paired with some of the most creative directors in the world.
Since the mid-nineties and the groundbreaking Stealth parties at the Blue Note in Hoxton Square, Ninja has been almost as well
respected for its engagement with visuals as it has for its audio. Now at last, the two come together on this massive
retrospective of almost a decade of experiment, innovation, humour and weirdness.
Let's get the spec out of the way first.
The ZenTV DVD has twice the capacity of a normal DVD, containing as it does 35 promo videos from the label, a fifteen minute
audiovisual mix and a 30 minutes audio mix from Hexstatic. And as if that wasn't enough, the DVD has a state-of-the-art menu
system which means you can watch the videos either in the order we intended, randomly, or chronologically from the oldest to the
newest or the newest to the oldest. You can also look up any specific act and check out their videos and album art. Or just leave
a gallery of some of Ninja's finest covers running in the corner of the room as a kind of ambient art installation dahlink? Mwah.
But that just scratches the surface, really, cos after all, in the kingdom of the blind content is king. Or something like that.
You know the music is going to be good (we hope you know the music is going to be good), but what about the visuals?
Well, one advantage with not having hit records (Coldcut's "Beats & Pieces" remains our one top forty for 12 years work) is that
you don't have to worry about getting your promos shown on daytime MTV or TOTP or any of those hellholes of visual mediocrity
where all the bands have to look fabulous and if they don't, well you better make sure you put some models in there who do? So
instead, you can be (whisper it) creative.
Which is why some of the top up-and-coming names in video direction and animation have worked for Ninja in the last few years.
Because they know that if they pitch an interesting, visually striking, innovative idea, they will be left to get on with it
without interference. Established directors like Alexander Rutterford (Amon Tobin, now working for Radiohead) Sam Arthur (DJ
Vadim) as well as young turks like Conkerko (Bonobo). Fizzy Eye made their first music video for Wagon Christ (the truly
excellent "Receiver") and have since gone on to do commercials for Honda, proving that a track record with Ninja doesn't ruin
your business prospects.
Beyond this, artists like Kid Koala and Jaga Jazzist often even commission their own videos, working with close associates to
find the perfect match between their sound and the director's vision. As if that wasn't enough, there are artists on the label
who are intimately involved in the creation of their own videos, whether it's the Scruff cartoons that make up the basis of his
Cosgrove Hall-animated "Sweet Smoke," the pioneering audiovisual cut-ups of Hexstatic and Coldcut, Funki Porcini's satires of
adverts or his weird, otherworldly concrete moving abstracts.
Overall, since those early audiovisual mash-ups, the driving force behind all of Ninja's visual work has been that the video is
not merely an unrelated promo item to sell a single but should be intimately related to the sounds it represents. The budgets may
be small, some results may be more effective than others, but there's no denying that the attempts to realise this ideal are
never less than interesting.
Are you sitting comfortably?
Click here for the rest of the exciting videos from this collection.
Amon Tobin featuring MC Decimal R: "Verbal"
This heart racing tune from Jaga Jazzist is a gem of rough animation. Plus, there are lots of zebras. This video is from "Zen TV," a collection of videos from Ninja Tune that includes some of the biggest figures in electronic
music, paired with some of the most creative directors in the world.
Since the mid-nineties and the groundbreaking Stealth parties at the Blue Note in Hoxton Square, Ninja has been almost as well
respected for its engagement with visuals as it has for its audio. Now at last, the two come together on this massive
retrospective of almost a decade of experiment, innovation, humour and weirdness.
Let's get the spec out of the way first.
The ZenTV DVD has twice the capacity of a normal DVD, containing as it does 35 promo videos from the label, a fifteen minute
audiovisual mix and a 30 minutes audio mix from Hexstatic. And as if that wasn't enough, the DVD has a state-of-the-art menu
system which means you can watch the videos either in the order we intended, randomly, or chronologically from the oldest to the
newest or the newest to the oldest. You can also look up any specific act and check out their videos and album art. Or just leave
a gallery of some of Ninja's finest covers running in the corner of the room as a kind of ambient art installation dahlink? Mwah.
But that just scratches the surface, really, cos after all, in the kingdom of the blind content is king. Or something like that.
You know the music is going to be good (we hope you know the music is going to be good), but what about the visuals?
Well, one advantage with not having hit records (Coldcut's "Beats & Pieces" remains our one top forty for 12 years work) is that
you don't have to worry about getting your promos shown on daytime MTV or TOTP or any of those hellholes of visual mediocrity
where all the bands have to look fabulous and if they don't, well you better make sure you put some models in there who do? So
instead, you can be (whisper it) creative.
Which is why some of the top up-and-coming names in video direction and animation have worked for Ninja in the last few years.
Because they know that if they pitch an interesting, visually striking, innovative idea, they will be left to get on with it
without interference. Established directors like Alexander Rutterford (Amon Tobin, now working for Radiohead) Sam Arthur (DJ
Vadim) as well as young turks like Conkerko (Bonobo). Fizzy Eye made their first music video for Wagon Christ (the truly
excellent "Receiver") and have since gone on to do commercials for Honda, proving that a track record with Ninja doesn't ruin
your business prospects.
Beyond this, artists like Kid Koala and Jaga Jazzist often even commission their own videos, working with close associates to
find the perfect match between their sound and the director's vision. As if that wasn't enough, there are artists on the label
who are intimately involved in the creation of their own videos, whether it's the Scruff cartoons that make up the basis of his
Cosgrove Hall-animated "Sweet Smoke," the pioneering audiovisual cut-ups of Hexstatic and Coldcut, Funki Porcini's satires of
adverts or his weird, otherworldly concrete moving abstracts.
Overall, since those early audiovisual mash-ups, the driving force behind all of Ninja's visual work has been that the video is
not merely an unrelated promo item to sell a single but should be intimately related to the sounds it represents. The budgets may
be small, some results may be more effective than others, but there's no denying that the attempts to realise this ideal are
never less than interesting.
Are you sitting comfortably?
Click here for the rest of the exciting videos from this collection.
Microsoft Word 2010 technical preview
Molly Wood takes you inside the new features of Word, including some cool cut-and-paste tricks.
E-40: "The Making of the 'Tell Me When To Go' Video"
This is a behind-the-scenes look at the video shoot for the first single from My Ghetto Report Card, E-40's soon-to-be released 12th album. "Tell Me When To Go" features Keak Da Sneak, and was recently shot by Lil' Jon and Director, Bernard Gourley (Lyfe Jennings, Three 6 Mafia, Beanie Siegle). The video introduces the world to the Hyphy movement in the Bay. "Hyphy music is like Crunk, but in a more up-tempo way. The culture is a way of life for Bay kids. We got the side shows, the muscle cars, we ghost ride the whip, we got the invisible driving, the music, the go dumb get stupid dances, we just actin' a fool expressing ourselves," explains E-40. Thousands of people showed up at the shoot including just about every rapper in the bay, members of the Hieroglyphics crew, and members of The BME Click including Lil' Jon, Lil' Scrappy, and Bohagon. "We were smokin' up the block, turning donuts and figure 8's. We had the hyphy train crackin'. Just imagine 300 cars riding back to back after a party with every car, van, camper or truck with all they doors open, shakin' their dreads, showing their grill, sporting stunna shade glasses, dancing on top of the roofs and hoods of the whip, campaigning like the president, like a big parade. It's just a whole bunch of super energy. You gotta see it," explains E-40.
The Herbaliser: "Something Wicked"
This slickly animated video is from the Ninja Tune DVD comp "Zen TV."
Psychedelic breakbeat funk from Precision Cuts. Precision Cuts are a UK band who perform live breakbeat and release records on their own label Smartbreaks. Precision Cuts are following on in the tradition of Leftfield, The Prodigy and Underworld by pushing a strong UK psychedelic breaks sound that is both uptempo and filled with emotion. Precision Cuts Make music for your mind as well as your feet. This is their first video for the forthcoming MP3 only single - "The Switch". If you like this video please visit the Precision Cuts site where you will find more music for your download pleasure
Jonas Odell did the amazing animations for this catchy tune.
Tru-Paz: "For Whom the Bell Tolls"
To define Tru-Paz is to define what hip hop is. Hip hop today is the epitome of Pop, the style and the music. Hip hop is also the epitome of street expression. Some view this dichotomy as a paradox, Tru-Paz views it as an opportunity. Akim, Boozy, and DJ Unknown are looking to bring up-tempo, energizing music with a conscious message into the ears of the people. Blending the good feelings of club music, with the uplifting vibes of positive messages, Tru-Paz hopes to deliver a universal brand of hip hop. Tru-Paz have always made their music for the people. The group is composed of three core members: Akim, Boozy and DJ Unknown. Akim is the lead MC, delivering sharp and energizing vocals that cut to the heart of any issue that needs to be tackled. His fans have compared him to everyone from Big L to Jay Z. Boozy is the Yang to Akim's Ying. Where Akim is fierce and aggressive, Boozy is cool and smooth. His sultry blend of harmonious singing and soulful rapping gives Tru-Paz a distinct reggae feel that very few groups possess. With his powerful voice and moving verses, Boozy is the perfect compliment to Akim's raw energy. Anyone that has heard Boozy has compared him to such legends as Tupac, and Bob Marley. With two solid vocal forces, DJ Unknown provides the glue that binds Tru-Paz together. With production that ranges from choppy samples over hard drums, to soulful electronic grooves over jazzy rhythmic drum loops. Unknown weaves melodies that both move the listener, as well as compliment Akim and Boozy's flows. As a producer, DJ Unknown has been compared stylistically to DJ Premier and DJ Pete Rock. Together, these three artists represent one goal. Together, they aspire to unite the fragmented hip hop community into one unstoppable force. The Tru-Paz vision is to inspire everyone, from the backpack kids who study hip hop history, to the club kids who bang bass heavy beats in their ride. From the average pop listener, to the most intense music critic, the Tru-Paz aim to smash the boundaries that divide hip hop. To take hip hop to where it was meant to be, to be a universal voice for the positive upliftment of all people, regardless of their differences.
The Dead Texan: "Taco Me Manque"
An animated video from this electronic duo
