Pokémon Gives Us A Dose Of Slowpoke Reggae With 'Yadon Ninen Ya no etc.'

You would think my time spent on the internet would have nulled any sense of surprised by now, but apparently not. It's not that Yadon Ninen Ya no etc. is weird per se, it's the fact that I've never correlated Reggae music with Slowpoke. It makes almost too much sense. To make sure that everyone is aware of the perfect match, Pokémon Japan's YouTube channel has uploaded the above music video which seems intent on improving everyone's day.

I will admit, the hordes of staring Slowpoke are a tad unnerving, but the chill accompanying track is destined to put you in a good Friday mood. Kick back and let Slowpoke peer into the depths of your soul, it's not nearly as awful feeling as you would expect.

Max Cooper - "Supine"

Shot through a series of broken mirrors, the Tom Geraedts directed track for Max Cooper's soothing, glitchy track Supine is a wonderful exploration of projected, pulsating imagery as seen through a reflection. Each shard imbued with it's own unique shape and way of reflecting imagery, the overall aesthetic is strangely mesmerizing, and takes your mind off the millenia of bad luck the crew probably brought upon themselves by smashing an incredible amount of mirrors.

Music video for Max cooper about the nature of complexity. And also the beauty that comes with increased complexity in our lives. Evolution has always been about increasing detail, variation and resolution of life. This refinement of life is something truly miraculous. The video has been shot through the reflecting light of countless mirrors.

Flying Lotus - "Phantasm"

Mysterious, astral creatures roam an idyllic desert in this new music video for Phantasm, taken from the year and a half old album 'Until The Quiet Comes.' A strange fuzzy creature unravels the contents of a mysterious figure, who seems to contain an entire universe within his body.

Featuring the beautiful vocal accompaniment of singer Laura Darlington, the video seems to have aimed for a vintage scifi feel with director Markus Hofko's choice of using a whole slew of retro lenses to shoot. The music video was shot over 2 days in the desert region of northern New Zealand.

Chet Faker - "1988"

Directed by Domenico Barolo of Flutter, this latest music video for Aussie electro crafstman Chet Faker (Nicholas James Murphy) is a relaxing affair. Nicholas adopted the 'Faker' stage name after realizing he was getting confused with an already established artist who had his same name. Having a relatively common name can suck when it comes to performing arts, yeah?

I really loved learning about his approach to music, opting on creating 'background' music that actually complements thinking rather than dominating it. I've come to appreciate that over the years as a working artist, sometimes you just want music that doesn't cloud the creative process, just pleasant background music to accompany the groove you get in.

1988 is a great example of this philosophy in practice, offering some mellow, understated beats with a mild vocal accompaniment. Easy listening with a really cool music video featuring whom I assume is Murphy walking through an abstract landscape of patterns, shapes and beyond.

Žagar - "Space Medusa"

This is an awesome treat coming straight from the Hungarian indie and electro scene; Žagar was setup in 2001 and has made waves in the region with their fresh, highly atmospheric and psychedelic brand of chill electro.

Barcelona based director Kinopravada (Aka Danila) was tasked with translating their track Space Medusa, taken from their 2013 album Light Leaks. Inspired by the retro sound, the music video effectively captures the state of mind of the various protagonists during their journey, with a visual style inspired by Tartavosky films like Solaris and the works of Alejandro Jodorowsky. Sit back and enjoy the trip.

Young Galaxy - "Sleepwalk With Me"

The latest music video from the Canadian indie/synth pop outfit Young Galaxy takes a page from actual history, with the direction taking inspiration from Letter to a GI, a 1953 book which tells the tale of a relationship between two GI's during World War II. This abstracted retelling is presented with a variety of vignettes always framed by the silhouette of the sleeping soldier, representing the dream state in which these recollections are coming from. The track is taken from the album 'Ultramarine,' which is distributed by Paper Bag Records.

Destronics - "Look"

Starring two young lovers gazing off into a blocky, post apocalytpic landscape - Destronic's new track is filled with an inviting sense of wonder and a chill sound that we've come to expect from the French indie pop/dance duo.

Director Thomas Blanchard mentioned that the concept of the music video was inspired by French author Antoine de Saint Exupery's novel called The Little Prince, specifically the quote: 'Love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction.' Lovely track, and perfect Friday listening material.

NUMéROBé - "Lighthouse"

If you remember the beautiful visuals of Hibou Blaster from earlier this year, created as part of the BBBlaster group, a multidisciplinary initiative mixing different types of animation with relaxing, downtempo electro, you're in for a treat.

Sent to us by BBBlaster member Loup Blaster, Lighthouse is yet another installment with a more stop motion oriented style, created to accompany the LoFi sounds of NUMéROBé (Check out the EP 'Powder' on Bandcamp). It's an incredibly relaxing, chill affair, a perfectly blended and paired aural and visual mix to wind down to at the end of the day.

The Paper Kites - "Young"

From the same 'Oh Yeah Wow' collective that brought us some truly unique music videos for artists including Stereolove, Clubfeet and Gotye comes their latest effort, which pushes the creative envelope. Created for the Aussie indie folk band Paper Kites, Young took 7 days to shoot, stars 350 distinct faces and took ten days to assemble the 4000+ photos taken in this creative stop motion/lip synch music video.

Ai Pioppi

This slice of life mini-documentary offers us a look at the life of Bruno, a wise Italian man who tells the fascinating story of how his restaurant, Ai Pioppi (The poplars) came to be. While narrating the story of how he started building rides to give his rustic 'osteria' a unique calling card, he also shares some truly insightful thoughts on life, existence and death that are nothing short of though provoking. Lovely cinematography and a soothing score ease us into the relaxing world of Bruno's playground. It's inspiring to see a man with so much determination and passion yet, despite his age.

Hidden among the trees of an Italian forest, Bruno has been building swings, slides, seesaws, gyroscopes and roller-coasters for the last forty years. They are his passion and a way to attract clients to Ai Pioppi, the restaurant he runs with his family. 

Panama - "Always"

Australian outfit Panama have dropped a wonderful end of summer track from their latest EP, 'Always.' Light, laid back pop tunes set the stage for a narrative regarding children being irresponsibly abandoned, but ultimately finding a way to work together while conflict bubbles up between the child's mother and a former lover.

Despite the initial upbeat sound of the track, it ultimately cracks and slows down to a crawl halfway through when drastic measures are ultimately taken, and things start to get surreal. Directed by Nice Idea Everyday, really enjoyed the non-linear visual narration throughout.

Land

Seamlessly fluid, endlessly chill, Masanobu Hiraoka's Land is an ever evolving, transforming musical piece that is hypnotic from both an aural and visual perspective. There's an abstract narrative hiding here somewhere about a boy traveling through different, reactive dimensions. I'd love to see a making of for one of these shorts, because his animation style is truly remarkable. Fantastic musical treatment by Aimar Molero with vocals by Marina Herlop for this strange, yet fantastical journey.

Eye Of The Beholder

Shot in the Canadian Rockies, High Sierra Nevadas and Southern Appalachians, Upthink Labs' Eye of the Beholder is a wonderfully relaxing look at the nearly surreal beauty of nature around us. Over 2 dozen separate timelapses accompany the soothing narrative that encourages one to enjoy their life. Not a bay way to start the week, full screen recommended.

Featuring an array of scenes from the North American landscape, EYE OF THE BEHOLDER is a short film that encourages the viewer to shed previous conceptions and ideas about the world, and to return to a place of wonderment and awe.

Quiero Club - "El Techo es el Suelo"

Mexican experimental indie pop band Quiero Club have that similar chill sound that I've been pretty fond of lately, and the video for the track "El Techo es el Suelo" (or, "The Ceiling is the Floor") has an equally surreal and moody look.  At static man is seen harrassing (haunting?) a few people in a remote, quiet neighborhood, with implications that make the mind wonder.  The best part is definitely the opening shot though, for reasons that should be obvious.

Pigeon Staple - Summer 2013

The rather strangely titled entry from directors Michael Lawrence & Bryan Schlam is a wonderful taste of summer created as a minor promo for the apparel company known as Staple Pigeon, founded by New York's very own Jeff Staple back in 1997. The company is well known for it's awesome promo videos for it's collection, and this summer preview is no different, featuring a series of models losing their grip on gravity set to the ridiculously summery tunes of Ernest Greene's Washed Out, whom we featured recently for It All Feels Right.

Left Boy - "Sunday Morning Chillin"

I can always rely on a good measured dose of the Brooklyn based Left Boy to get my day going, and his recent music video for Sunday Morning Chillin' is no exception, offering an upbeat, high energy dose of feel good rhymes. Despite having been filmed all the way back in 2010, Left Boy and director Max Papadop finally got around to releasing the rather chill affair, and it lives up to it's title with a double shot of extra silly, lyric driven visuals shot around New York. On a related note, Left Boy just put out his EP for free, titled 'Eternal Sunshine' which you can get over on his fine website.

Washed Out - "Don't Give Up"

Wonderfully relaxing visuals of nature in motion are on the menu today with Don't Give Up, set to the incredibly blissful synth-pop of Washed Out's Ernest Greene, who's put me to ease with his latest slew of tracks from his upcoming August 13 album, 'Paracosm.' The sheer amount of majestic close-ups of beautiful animals and the uplifting lyrics should provide a much needed upper to anyone in need. Ace Producer Ben Allen (Deerhunter, Animal Collective) has been working on giving Washed Out's tracks that much needed polish and gloss, and it definitely shows between this latest track and It Feels All Right. Adding this to my ever growing playlist of tracks to drive into the sunset to, anime ending style.

Breakbot - "You Should Know"

Created in collaboration with Ed Banger records and the fine vocals of Ruckazoid, Parisian electro artist Breakbot just released a fresh music video for You Should Know, a rich love song outfitted with plenty of Tron and Moebius inspired retro-futuristic visuals narrate the story of two minds becoming intertwined. It's a laid back, summery track with vibrant, colorful visuals that do a perfect job emulating a late 70's, new age scifi film. You Should Know was released earlier this month in an EP format earlier this month with remixes by  by Busy P & Boston Bun, Homework Le Bain, Le Family Club, and The Swiss.

Bonobo - "First Fires"

Directed by the fine folks at Young Replicant, this cinematic music video for Bonobo's downtempo track, First Fires explores themes of loss, confusion and ultimately discovery for the downtrodden protagonists. Featuring an understated exploration of the elements, the somewhat abstract track visually juggles elements of water, earth and ultimately fire, using the warm shift in colors to mark a profound moment of introspection. The track is from Bonobo's wonderfully mellow 2013 release, 'The North Borders,' which debuted earlier this year.

Spacetime Fabric Softener

Artist, Professor Soap is a self-proclaimed "fine purveyor of audiovisual eyecandy" and I can't help but agree after spending a bit of time with Spacetime Fabric Softner. With a chill and spacey tune, Professor Soap has synced an awesome song with an equally awesome animation to create a spacetime continuum of awesomeness. The subtleties of how the music syncs with the animation is enough to be impressed with, but the overall package is pretty damn fantastic.

To check out more of Professor Soap's music, head over to his bandcamp over here.