Gang Of Youths have shared a sepia-toned music video for their latest single, ‘The Man Himself’, embracing nostalgia by way of a choppy, yet entrancing visual aesthetic.
The clip was directed by Joel Barney (who has also helmed the videos for Gang Of Youths’ recent singles ‘The Angel Of 8th Ave.’ and ‘Unison’) and is based on a concept by frontman Dave Le’aupepe. The segments of stop-motion animation were created by Mickey Mason, incorporating childhood photos of Le’aupepe.
In a statement, Barney said: “Dave came to me with the idea of creating a video that incorporated the idea of a younger version of himself. We wanted to blur the lines of the connection by making it seem like flashes of Dave reminiscing on his childhood or the younger version of himself imagining the future.”
Barney also touched on the idea behind flickering between shots of Dave in the present day and stop-motion sequences of his youth, saying that “one of the main focuses for the video was pulling together a sense of nostalgia whilst keeping it feeling dreamlike”. The clashing aesthetics were chosen “to give the video a textured feeling” and “separate the two parts of the video visually, whilst still existing within the same world”.
On how Mason added his own touch to the process, Barney explained that the animator “used real textured brush strokes and materials to give the video an authentic feel”, opining that his unique style “brings the video out of the screen into something feeling material”.
Watch the music video for ‘The Man Himself’ below:
Gang Of Youths first shared ‘The Man Himself’ last month, as the latest single from their as-yet-untitled third third album. Also due to feature are ‘The Angel Of 8th Ave.’ and another new song titled ‘Brothers’ (as per a rough draft of its tracklist they posted to their socials last week). The record is expected to land in the early months of 2022.
Upon its release, Le’aupepe explained that ‘The Man Himself’ tackles with themes of grief following the death of his father. He said in a statement: “If I ever have kids I’m not really sure how to raise them without my dad helping me out.”
On November 17, Gang Of Youths will headline a special show at London’s Omeara, celebrating the venue’s fifth birthday. Soul musician Aaron Taylor will also perform, with Omeara’s popular weekly LGBTQ+ club night ‘Feel It’ due to spin tunes into the early hours.
Mumford & Sons‘ Ben Lovett, who founded the 325-capacity venue back in 2016, explained: “We’ve had some incredible shows at Omeara, and shows that people still talk to us about several years on. That’s why we started it.
Also this month, Gang Of Youths are locked in to support Sam Fender on five of his sold-out shows around the UK. They’ll open for the indie-rocker in Newcastle, London, Leeds and Cardiff, with a few of their own sold-out gigs (specifically in Nottingham, Glasgow, Brighton and Bristol) sprinkled throughout the run.
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