RÜFÜS DU SOL Release Official Music Video for New Single ‘Alive’
First Person Flyover Film Created Entirely in Unreal Engine by Award Winning Director James Frost.
RÜFÜS DU SOL continue their legacy of creating immersive worlds for their fans to explore in the form of an official music video for their new single, ‘Alive’. Constructed entirely using Epic Games’ Unreal Engine by renowned director James Frost, the film takes viewers on a first-person journey over speeding landscapes with a sense of kinetic energy inherited from the momentous single.
James Frost, known as the mastermind behind music videos like Radiohead’s “House of Cards” and OK Go’s “This Too Shall Pass”, sought out to create a visual where analog and digital worlds collide for the Official Video. It was this vision that made Unreal, the world’s most open and advanced real-time 3D creation tool, the natural palette for this reality-defying project. The virtual camera flies 360 degrees through photo-realistic landscapes across a multitude of environments, then into wireframed digital realms, evolving to what begs the viewer to question what reality they are in, if any.
In director James Frost’s own words:
“When I first started discussing the video with the guys several months ago, the recurring idea was this concept of “analog vs. digital” and this sense of freedom. When I was sent the track, I immediately understood why; the song had this energy that was sheer momentum, and visually it spoke to me on this level.
As a result, I wanted to create something where we sensed we were utterly free from restraint. In light of what the World has just gone through the last 18 months, it almost felt like the need to create a visceral piece of work.
Obviously, it would not have been possible to travel the World shooting remote landscapes, and I really wanted to find a way to explore the digital side. That’s where Unreal Engine came in. I was aware of Unreal and the work done on several high-profile TV series as environmental plates. Still, I thought, what if we were actually in the environment instead of secondary to the scene. What if the environment is so photoreal that it pulls the viewer into believing they are traveling through these incredible landscapes. Then, to suddenly reveal it as a digital asset. What would that World look like?”
Premiered on Zane Lowe’s World First, the brooding ‘Alive’ went on to garner support from NME, Billboard, BBC Radio 1, SPIN, SiriusXM, KCRW, Billboard and more. The track marked a major milestone for the band, with nine million combined global streams since its unveiling. Additionally, upon release, the track was immediately added ATB to Australia’s Triple J and is now their most played song on air.
If ‘Alive’ was a clear indication of what the reemergence of RÜFÜS DU SOL sounds like, the official video invites fans to step within these soundscapes. This idea of world-building is not new to the RÜFÜS creative process, exemplified by their past collaboration with Frost on the immersive Official Video for ‘Underwater’ off their 2018 ‘SOLACE’ LP. Showcased for hundreds of thousands of fans at Coachella’s 2018 Antarctic Dome, the 360 video project opened new doors for a band wildly inspired by the worlds of art and design.
The ‘Alive’ Official Video and the single’s architecturally influenced artwork by Italian 3D Designer and Art Director Stefano Giocomello, displayed on the band’s website as an explorable realm, forges a new path for a band considered sonically to be equal parts electronic and organic. Sense of place continues to define the way they write and perform music. From their debut album recorded on the coast of Australia, onwards to the brooding ‘BLOOM’ written in the streets of techno mecca Berlin, to ‘SOLACE’’s glimpse of the darker side of Los Angeles, the trio now push outwards, less bound by Geographical location, to the wider reaches of shape and time.
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