When we first decided to choose this song there wasn't a released video. But here it is, it was premiered recently, and we were shocked to see how abstract it was. It couldn't be further away from our treatment. Directed by a little know Andrew Huang who is renowned for his complex short films. This is his fourth outing as a music video director. He certainly lives up to his reputation, this is not your run of the mill band performance or narrative based short film. This shares more similarities with a piece of art than a music video; the strange sculptures and visuals are something you would expect to see at an exhibition at the Tate modern. Huang is obviously content with breaking conventions.
The video displays an exceptional use of editing and lighting to reflect the pace and tone of the music. The mise-en-scène featured in this video is very simplistic, and it is left to the mystical shapes when Huang finally adds his touch. Although it is confusing, and makes almost no sense at all, it is visually exciting. The lighting is constantly changing with the music, and the vibrant colours used work to great effect, lending to the electronic genre of Delphic.
The actors used in the video are conventionally good looking, and for the duration of the video almost half naked. This also lends to the electronic genre. The song is an unconventional dance number. It is common for dance videos to exploit the human body, and show a lot of skin. I would normally expect these 'good looking' people to be dancing away so that their toned bodies were emphasised. Where this video differs the stars are stationary throughout either sitting on a plain white box or standing up right. Additionally their bodies are gradually covered by the shapes featured. This could be a spin on the dance music genre, and act as a statement against the exploitation of the human body (notably females) in dance music videos. However that is pulling at thin air, the video is so abstract it could be representing almost anything, and it may only be the director who truly understands the concept behind it.
The fast paced electronic slurs of the track are often accompanied by fast paced editing, in the form of neon lights and cuts of the several actors' featured. However for most of the video the editing is relatively slow paced, along with the very slow movements between the star's and the slow build up of shapes. This acts as juxtaposition to the fast paced song. It isn't until the musical bridge near the end of the song that the editing and lights act as a true reflection of the song's pace. The lights dominate and chase their way across the screen in a visual spectacular building up to the song's climax.
Despite this being the first of Delphic's videos to be directed by Huang, their other two; 'Counterpoint' and 'This Momentary', are similar in terms of abstract visuals, simplistic settings and slow paced editing. Additionally the band are not featured in any of their videos, which gives them an anonymity, and being a small, up and coming band, it leaves more to the imagination. Furthermore it lets viewers concentrate more on the music.
Whether this trend will continue in Delphic's career, and become an iconic trait associate with their videos it is unsure. The videos may look incredible, but music videos are commonly used as a promotional tool, therefore often feature close ups of the artists in question. Where Delphic are never seen it could prove disadvantageous. Leaving them to rely heavily on word of mouth, which is something Delphic are almost certainly familiar with; coming third in BBC's Sound of 2010 poll
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