Shaking Godspeed Post Hand-Drawn Video for “She’s Young”
Posted in Bootleg Theater on March 5th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
I feel like 25 years ago I definitely wouldn’t have needed to point out that the animation in Shaking Godspeed‘s video for “She’s Young” is hand-drawn, but then again, 25 years ago I’d be watching it on tv while flipping back and forth between after-school cartoons, blowing off my second-grade homework and waiting 20 minutes to download illicit jpegs on AOL — even then, I was a multitasker. And come to think of it, Shaking Godspeed would probably be too young to hold guitars. Times change, is the point, but it’s admirable that though it would’ve probably been easier and cheaper for the video’s Paris-based director, Alice Seay, to work in digital design, she went with hand-drawn images, resulting in a natural feel.
That suits the song “She’s Young” and the vibrant feel Shaking Godspeed bring to the track, which comes from their 2014 Suburban Records long-player, Welcome Back Wolf. There’s a jangly kind of swing to it, but crisp and definitely a studio vibe. You can hear the organic-sounding room echo in the vocals of guitarist/vocalist Wout Kemkens, who takes the lead here backed by guitarist/vocalist Rocco Ostermann, bassist/keyboardist/vocalist Alex van Damme and drummer Maarten Rischen, and though it’s all clear sounding, there’s nothing missing for heft either as the track plays out its self-consciously lovelorn feel.
Shaking Godspeed provide some background on Seay‘s work and on the song itself in the PR wire info following the video below:
Shaking Godspeed, “She’s Young” official video
MORE THAN TWO THOUSAND HANDMADE IMAGES IN NEW SHAKING GODSPEED VIDEO
To the people who are convinced that there is no room for some old-fashioned manual crafting among the contemporary digital copy-paste era, meet visual artist Alice Saey. The Parisian artist spent the last six months designing and coloring in over 2000 individual handmade images. After it all got digitally animated, her work subsequently transformed in to the psychedelic tripvideo for Shaking Godspeed’s song She’s Young.
Even though there is no lack of female presence in the clip – from sensual long-haired temptresses to heroic amazons in a fierce battle with the elements- the lyrics come down to one lady in particular, singer/guitarist Wout Kemkens’ muse. “She’s Young is a homage to a girl. It’s mainly about the time when she still was a complete mystery to me. A sheer act of idolatry.This is the only, and last, love song I shall ever write”.
Alice Saey’s work is known for being a quirky mix of graphic design, illustration and animation. Her portfolio contains magazine- and poster designs, videos, artwork, VJ-work and animations. Her first animated short film Celui Qui Manea Un Œil De Poisson got awarded with a Pflimlin-prize in 2014. Shortly after that she received degree in Graphic Arts at The School Of Art in Straatsburg. She currently works as an independent designer in Paris and Rotterdam.
