This year, we peeked behind the doors of Modernist housing estate, wandered around an empty Louvre, and explored the abandoned woods and buildings of Pripyat – all thanks to music videos. Here’s our top 10 from 2018.
Febueder – Hans
Filmmaker Lexi Kiddo took music duo Febueder inside Bevin Court for their music video Hans, after stumbling across the 1950s housing block on a location scout.
Jon Hopkins – Singularity
A chance encounter between two people turns violent as they dance their way through a disused Belgrade apartment block in director Seb Edwards’s video for Jon Hopkin’s mesmerising track. ‘I wanted to capture the feeling of defiance that rises from the initial brutality. The track is ultimately about acceptance and finding peace in nature,’ says Edwards. ‘I hope I did it justice.’
The Carters – Apes**t
Beyonce and Jay-Z take over an empty Louvre, in the art world’s favourite music vid of the year directed by Ricky Saiz. It was such a success it even inspired the gallery to launch their own Apes**t guided tour…
Childish Gambino – This Is America
Childish Gambino and a gang of backup dancers cause chaos in a huge warehouse in the controversial and hard-hitting music video for ‘This is America’. Directed by Hiro Murai, it was one of the most talked-about short films of 2018 and is a frank critique of gun crime in the States.
Chaka Khan – Like Sugar
Kim Gehrig captured the last moments of a pre-demolition petrol station in London’s White City for this contemporary take on Soul Train.
Young Fathers – TOY
Dictators are recast as children in Young Fathers’ video for ‘Toy’. Directed by Samuel Ligthelm, the film is set inside a lavishly decorated mansion which serves as a backdrop for some serious tantrums.
Suede – Life Is Golden
Director Mike Christie shot ‘Life Is Golden’ in the abandoned Pripyat in Ukraine, and has said the music video explores ‘the unstoppable force of life that’s consumed the desolate landscape left behind by humans.’
Agoria – Embrace
Beirut-born filmmaker Jessy Moussallem depicts the days leading up to Lebanon’s 1983 civil war, in a film that follows a group of young men preparing for battle from inside a ruined building.
Sevn Alias ft Josylvio – Mag het ff lekker gaan
Director Sharif Abdel Mawla travelled to the outskirts of Cairo to shoot this video, capturing car stunts in the dusty streets and dancing in the desert.
Tommy Cash – X-Ray
A three-eyed Tommy Cash leads his own cult, in this bizarre self-directed video which takes place in a spaceship-like cathedral filled with frantic dancers.
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