Throwback Thursday: Throne - Tharsis Sleeps

Nicos Livesey's video for UK-band Throne depicts an epic drama of interplanetary conquest and cosmic collision seemingly embroidered into the very fabric of space and time. Three astronauts are sent to the planet Mars on a mission to last open the volcanic crater dubbed "Tharsis" and seed a new foothold for human civilization. They end up getting more than what they bargained for when their bomb punctures a rift in reality, allowing for a whole mess of inter-dimensional prog-rock nonsense to spill out into the void.

What's most impressive is that this wasn't just computer-generated to resemble embroidery. Every frame was physically stitched and digitally-composted in post-production. Our hats off to the folks at Lucky Features and Dazed Digital for creating such a kick-ass music video!

Throwback Thursday: Horde

This week's throwback is the brilliantly intense Horde courtesy of France-based animation group The Brutus Collective. If you're having trouble matching a face to the name, I'll spoil it for you: The four directors are alumni of the Supinfocom computer animation university and were the guys behind 2013's gorgeously post-apocalyptic Contre Temps.


Horde follows a lone motorcyclist speeding down a dark country highway who is ambushed by a gang of ghoulish apparitions looking to separate his head from his neck in the fewest amount of steps possible. It's gritty and violent, and combined with music courtesy of Flairs, it echoes the tone and imagery of tremendous motorcycle fights seen in the likes of Tron and Akira.

Throwback Thursday: Everything I Can See From Here

Salutations Awesome-Robonauts! I'm happy to report that we've successfully managed to survive another 365-day circuit around the sun. Now that everyone is coasting off a two-day stretch of toast-making and nursing hangovers, let's spare a moment to throwback to London-based animation house The Line's exquisitely bizarre short, Everything I Can See From Here.

Making friends is easy, if you know how...

It's a story as old as time. Two buddies are having tossing a ball around in a junkyard, marveling at the force of Earth's gravity, when a strange creature with luminescent dreads materializes out of the folds of space to join in on their game. To say things do not go as well is an understatement.

This short is a true diamond in the rough. The strong reliance on ambient sound design and pantomimic gestures, combined with the expert balance between soft and hard color pallets is powerfully reminiscent of Genndy Tartakovsky at his best. I'm pleased Everything I Can See From Here has finally made its way onto Awesome-Robo's radar. Check out the making of video below the break, and check out the Creator Project's interview with the directors discussing the origins behind the short!

Throwback Thursday: Darlingside - The Ancestor

This Thursday, we're throwing all the way back to 2012 with Darlingside's exquisitely beautiful music video for "The Ancestor". Long before Hiro Murai's "Never Catch Me", The Ancestor tells the story of the after-life and of one loving couple's attempt to weather the inevitable consequences of mortality. A older woman with a rose in her hair stares down at the graveside of her beloved. As day turns to night, the spirits of the departed are lifted out of their graves and hoisted into the great beyond along wisping tethers of lights. But one man cannot let go of his earthly ties, and a decision must be made...

Director Keith Boynton, lead animator Abraham Dieckman, lead artist Pamela Goodman and the rest of the team at Crazy Lake Pictures did a phenomenal job with this one. The vibrant colors and abstract art-style perfectly complement the track's dream-like tone. Check out more of their more recent awesome work here.

Throwback Thursday: Major Lazer - Aerosol Can Feat. Pharrel

Yes, I'll admit that once in a very long while, a choice music video or short film does manage to escape the long-sight of the omnipresent hive-mind that is Awesome-Robo. Though we are dedicated to bringing the very latest in awesome art, animation, movies, and off-the-wall internet content, we also know the value of giving incredible art of the past its proper due. So, for the week's throwback thursday, we're bringing it back to Major Lazer's animated video for the track Aerosol Can featuring Pharrel on vocals. Enjoy!