A Closer Listen
When challenged on the relevance of this year’s Video Music Awards, a spokesperson for MTV pointed out that some of the VMA nominees had accumulated over 100 million views on YouTube alone. While our own artists are nowhere near that level, the statistic backs up our own belief that music videos are as relevant as ever. We apologize for playing with time; two of this year’s videos were released last year, although the albums were released this year, and one is from an album that won’t be released until next year. But no matter how one (literally) looks at it, this year’s selections are a treat for the eyes and ears!
Ludwig Berger ~ Crying Glacier
Director: El Flamingo
Field recording videos are a rare breed, but this documentary entry – the first salvo of what would later become forms of minutiae’s Ice Series – provides a rare window into the artist’s craft. Few of us will ever be where Ludwig Berger is, but fortunately, many of us can now hear these sounds.
Andrzej Pietrewicz ~ Separated
Director: Kaela Willey
Andrzej Pietrewicz has been bringing a new approach to spiritual music, and has now added a visual element as well. This heartrending video takes a well-known Scripture and demonstrates how it may be applied to a real-life situation. Dancer-actress-director Kaela Willey is sublime.
Penelope Trappes ~ Sleep
Director: Agnes Haus
On the opposite end of the spiritual spectrum is a mini-horror film, which would later become part of A Requiem, which spawned a wide array of stunning videos. “Sleep” challenges traditional views of witchcraft; the body becomes the tree becomes the body.
Emil Friis ~ Five Corners of Blue
Director: Shaun Hart
Emil Friis’ grand plan for his latest, most cinematic album: commission a video for each of the tracks, to be released at staggered intervals. “Five Corners of Blue” is the finest so far, telling a complete tale in under three minutes. Let this be a lesson to those who pad their films!
Takahiro Kido ~ Insomnia
Director: Yuki Murata
“Insomnia” might be considered a sequel to Murata’s “kill lies all,” which made last year’s top ten; Takahiro Kido is also a founding member of Anoice. But the short film can also be appreciated in its own right, a vision of encroaching danger, with hints of FSOL’s “My Kingdom.”
Max Cooper and Aneek Thapar ~ I Exist Inside This Machine
Director: Henning M. Lederer
Max Cooper is another artist who loves to collaborate with experimental filmmakers, and his latest album is supported by a multitude of videos. Our favorite is the most complex, as repeat viewings are necessary to catch all of the social commentary, buried messages and subtle humor.
Rival Consoles ~ Soft Gradient Beckons
Director: Anthony Dickenson
First comes the video, then the reveal: this is a strictly DIY venture, the diametrical opposite of A.I. John Henry died defeating the steam engine, but we’re happy to report that Anthony Dickenson is alive and well.
Ben Chatwin ~ Caldera
Director: Morgan Beringer
An encroaching storm grows increasingly surreal, with incandescent colors and whirlpools in the sky. The video captures the emotion of a storm through churn and swirl, like a grand battle in the heavenly realm which eventually, blessedly subsides.
Matmos ~ The Rust Belt
Director: Jack Colbert
Rings and nails, keys and coins: the most playful video on our list is a breath of fresh air, a metal collection given motion. Search through your coin jars and junk drawers; you may find treasure. And who can resist a sea creature/centipede created out of soda can tabs?
Felsmann + Tiley ~ Warnung
Directors: Philip Schürk & Cenk Karan
Many of the videos we’ve chosen this year share a foreboding theme: from melting glaciers to personal heartache to melting skies, a reflection of our times. The set culminates in our last selection, which can only be viewed on YouTube: every worst case scenario boiled into one.
Richard Allen
Wed Dec 03 00:01:22 GMT 2025