music
We are dropping the new MIRS music video from the song Fall (birds) of the Spin Cycle EP very soon. It was produced by ANIMALS, and directed by Chris Castillo + Myself. Castillo's father is the legendary Filipino film director Celso Ad Castillo, so the relations run deep.
This is the just released music video (first of four) for the track Spring (bombs) of the MIRS Spin Cycle ep. Usually, I don't go into the behind the scenes stuff, but I do want to frame this, so that it has some contextual backdrop to work from. Initially, the video was going to be some elaborate live action piece, with some "familiar face" as the lead. But the production was endlessly getting pushed back, weeks and weeks with no end in sight.
Now, at the same time, I had been thinking of another visual treatment, one that I had always considered more central and "authentic", but was hesitant to follow through because of this larger scale production which was already in movement, and also for the very fact that this idea lacked so called production value.
But instead of delaying yet again, and in reference to this track in particular being at times labeled as Chillwave (a genre that I was never fully aware of when I was recording this) I decided to trash the production, and go with my more honest instinct. The general trends in music videos now(especially in these genres) is the feeling or mood of nostalgia. But usually as it applies only in meta feeling, not in actuality, since most of these musicians weren't even born during the visual time clock that the images represent. And the other type of nostalgia based music video of late is the home-movie aesthetics but with a clear cut narrative, rendering it to skillful artifice and craftsmanship. (ie: Mark Ronsons' I Need Somebody to Love Me" video).
So, given these distinctions, I wanted to cut of the oxygen to those particular forms of nostalgic pandering, and so I came up with this. This is actual footage, taken many years ago, at the second renaissance of break dancing. It includes myself, and several of my friends, when we were in a crew. The only narration is the actual "session". Pairing it up to the music, it renders the scene wholly different, and in my opinion, gives the music its own unqiue breathing space as well.
MIRS "Spin Cycle" is now available on Itunes and if you are into collecting hardware, a limited pressing CD is available on Amazon for Pre-Order. It officially comes out this Tuesday, the 23'rd of November, 2010.
While MIRS remains elusive right now, it won't be long before someone else tells you about it. So, be the curator, the tastemaker, the leader of your crew. Don't wait until someone else tells you what to listen to man.
Spin Cycle is now available on BandCamp, followed by a larger digital and CD launch Novemeber 30th, 2010.
Don't waste your fucking time here, go grab it before all the digital files are gone. I would also like to make the case that you pick up the full EP instead of singles, because they are made to go linear, and because its pretty good.
Also, with your purchase of the album, you get a PDF translation page that will come in handy soon.
"Spin Cycle", the first release from MIRS comes out Tuesday, November 2nd on BandCamp as a digital only (MP3, Wav), followed by a limited edition CD pressing & full digital release (including Itunes, Amazon, Etc.) November 30th, 2010. The EP includes the following four tracks:
01. Spring (bombs)
02. Summer (farahavar)
03. Fall (birds)
04. Winter (little tokyo)
Mirs has been sitting and watching me neglect it. It needs care, it needs attention. But it just sits. Why? Well, the finishing funds are just not there right now. But, I have a plan. This is not a national campaign, there isn't any ROI in place.
Instead of the Kickstarter, I want to privatize the matter. So, if you are my friend, and want to help, please go here. The goal isn't too far-fetched, and unlike the Kickstarter stuff, I won’t bother you, I won’t send you emails, I won’t send you lyrics and I won’t pitch you my ideas on how this is going to change the world. Instead, I'll spare you the details and will give you the record once it’s mastered and pressed.
I never wanted to do a crowd funding campaign, so I'm not. This is a private version, this is my own version. But, if you don't know me and feel like giving anyway, maybe because you are curious about the work, please roll on over to:
http://www.amirmotlagh.com/mirs-10x100-campaign
P.S: If you want, I can throw in a Shanks and the Dreamers, "My Darling Dia" retail CD, or, a DVD copy of WHALE. But you have to let me know.
Mirs is the name of my new music project. Shanks and the Dreamers are on permanent hiatus. What to look forward too? The debut EP, Spin + Cycle is mixed, and waiting to get mastered. Look for an end of the year release.
More information will be filled out here very shortly.
Download is free. Just click the link on the bottom of the player to go to Shanks and the Dreamers SoundCloud page.
Our Iran by Shanks and the Dreamers
With the DVD launch in progress, WHALE screens at the Independent minded film festival screening series, Indies for Indies. Indies for Indies is curated by Lucas McNelly, talking the freshest films from the Independent film circuit and screening them at the Hollywood Theater in Dormont Pennsylvania.
This is the perfect type of supplemental screening opportunity to further support my newer ideas towards releasing WHALE and possibly other projects. As I focus more towards the DVD and digital distribution options, screenings further support my main objectives. I am not relying on the festival first, then see what happens method. Those were my ideas previously, but as I spent more time finishing the project then I ever expected, I felt no need to further delay the existence of the film. Its here, if you want it, you can buy it. But, you can also see it screened if you are in the right place, at the right time. I'm hand choosing where this film goes, no blind festival submissions. Why lose money? Why not make money? The economic and industrial world we live in is a bit different, so why really on the same old approaches? Is it because it worked for so and so in the past? Well, fuck that, every case is different, time has passed, so I'm opening up to new possibilities, and so far, so good.
Also, another reason Indies for Indies is a fascinating case study, is that the festival proposes to give back some of the box office to the filmmaker. Now, isn't that a novel idea, one in which should have been implemented 10 years earlier. I applaud these types of positive approaches to the stagnate film festival infrastructure. Whether they work or not isn't the final question, but whether people have the initiative to try to do something different, something vital to resurrect a dying form which is losing younger audiences daily. Indy film will start to be vital again when filmmakers stop thinking they are Quentin Fucking Tarantino or Kevin Smith, and make work which truly speaks to their generations now. That's what was going on with Tarantino and Smith in the nineties. There was personalty, a fuck you attitude, a vision. Look at how loyal audience fan base were. Think about how Harmony Korine spoke to millions of young adults his age. People gave a shit then, they really did. And most importantly, it was the youth who admired the auteur. Nowadays, we lost them to Avatar and the newest Vince Vaughn comedy (not making a judgment on the quality(in fact i really was quite taken by Avatar), but on the fact that values have changed). Indie film nor the arthouse is hip anymore culturally, lets face the fact. But that doesn't mean that it cannot be again. Lars Van Trier proves the case, with personality, insight, radicalism, and again, a fuck you attitude. Hate the guy, or love him, you cannot deny the magnetism he draws on the form. He makes you go see the work. Of course, I'm talking about the little guys right now, who, if you support them, can grow into the next generation of filmmakers who speak directly to you, the audience. A stale, dying infrastructure will only drown the voices without peoples support.
So, get to work, and support films which speak to you. Support them the same way you support bands that you love. Go buy their shit, ask your local "arthouse" theaters to bring you new shit, make your own screening series of indie films at your local bar, or your own house. Indie film nights, coming straight to the couch. Buy some obscure DVD from someone you heard about, then invite a bunch of people for drinks and enjoy the night. Stop being a critic, a cynic, a negative asshole. Be good, be kind, be helpful. And last but not least, go see WHALE, or buy the damn DVD!
Whale screens:
Saturday, March 6th @ 4:30pm
Monday, March 8th @ 7pm
Tuesday, March 9th @ 9:30pm
For additional info please visit Indies for Indies and try the facebook fan page at Indies for Indies on Facebook
As I am getting ready to officially release WHALE very soon (announcement coming), I would like to steer your direction into some other equally fantastic news. My musical side project is now on the best two things on the internet, Pandora and last.fm.
So, please go and make your Shanks and the Dreamers station on Pandora.
And if your more into lastfm or need double fix, we can be found at last.fm
This is the last 'Shanks and the Dreamers" track we will be releasing for quite some time. The track is also featured in the WHALE soundtrack, but this is the official remix. You can stream and/or download for a limited time.
Time blinks, petit bourgeois by Shanks and the Dreamers
To Download Immediately, go here:
Wanted to thank Celestial Ceiling for providing a much needed sample.
