SÓLSTAFIR releases the daring video for “Blakkrakki” – Digital Mediaverse

Icelandic cowboys SOLSTAFIR release the daring video for their new single, «Blakkrakki«, which captures the wild side of the band. The title, which means “The Black Dog,” is a metaphor that has its origins in myth and folklore. Watch the video, created by Bowen Stainesnext.

The song is from the band’s upcoming album, «Hin Helga Kvöl«, which will go on sale on November 8 through Century Media Recordswhich marks his debut on the label! The name «SOLSTAFIR“, which means “twilight rays” in Icelandic, refers to those penetrating rays of sunlight that pierce the dark clouds at dusk. This image captures the essence of their upcoming album, a beacon of light and hope that shines in the most difficult times. As the band confronts their inner demons, shedding the trappings of rock and roll decadence, their music resonates with universal struggle and triumph over hardship. «Hin helga kvöl» is the holy war that we all face inside.

Bowen Stainesdirector of Don’t Panic Filmssheds some light on the production of the video:

«Regarding the production of the new video for ‘Blakkrakki‘, actually it is the fifth video that I have been lucky enough to make with SOLSTAFIR.

This specific idea for a future video (which would end up becoming ‘Blakkrakki‘) it occurred to us Addi and me about four or five years ago, when we talked about the possibility of putting everyone on a flatbed trailer, then drifting them around the runways of Reykjavík airport and filming it all in one take. So we put the idea on hold for a few years until I heard a first demo of ‘Blakkrakki‘ almost four years ago in the rehearsal room of SOLSTAFIR in Seltjarnarnes, the same day I asked them to learn ‘Dionysus‘at three times the normal speed for the video we were going to shoot for that song the next day. I remember looking at Addi and I thought, ‘I want to do THAT one!’ Four years later (but also just a few weeks ago), the guys were playing the song on a flatbed trailer at eighty miles an hour on a stretch of highway surrounded on all sides by one of Iceland’s oldest lava flows. .

From a cinematographic point of view, I chose to include shots that showed the cameras, the crew and our driver, Lexibecause it seemed very important to me to share that part of the process, as well as the teamwork that made this video possible in a single day. In comparison, both’Fjara‘ as ‘Bláfjall‘They had more than 60 pages of shot lists, they took almost four months to shoot and another five or six to edit… while ‘Blakkrakki‘ was shot in a single day and edited in the next twenty-one days, making it the fastest music video I have shot and edited in my entire career. All camera moves and transitions were done 100% in-camera – there are no keyframes, digital fades or motion paths, so post-production is virtually non-existent.

The most fun part of shooting the video was that everything was done completely guerilla style: active roads and highways, and the only elements that were constantly held down were the cabs, the amplifier heads and the invaluable battery Ludwig from 1963 that a personal friend of the band lent us… ‘Be careful’ is an understatement. Fortunately, the only thing that ended up falling off was one of the amplifier heads Orange and one of the drumsticks Hallgrímurwhich had to run back to search among the endless expanses of highway, moss and lava that remained behind us.

That said, there was a moment, after we’d done a dozen takes and gotten comfortable with everyone on the rig, when we turned onto a huge stretch of road called Keilir and started reaching speeds in the mid-fifties. or sixty kilometers per hour, and every time a big truck passed us…, you can see some of the saucers flexing in some of the shots that were included in the final video, as well as a couple of very quick clips of some of us almost falling over the side while climbing a steep slope near Þingvellir.

The last step was to transfer the entire video to Super16mm film, so it would have a very organic and heavy feel. So yes, all video was transferred directly to 16mm film from reel to reel, proving once again that the format is NOT dead. In short, it has been a pleasure to do ‘Blakkrakki‘, and we hope that you also have fun watching it.

Pre-orders are available here.

SOLSTAFIR recently announced his signing for Century Media Records. They are not unknown in the world of music, since they have been performing around the world for more than 20 years and they never cease to surprise the public with their hearts in their mouths from the first note. With a catalog full of truly exceptional timeless hits, as well as some highly anticipated new musical releases, the atmospheric Icelandic rock and roll sound of SOLSTAFIR He always surprises those who witness his epic concerts, which take you on a journey through ice and snow, fire and lava and the stunning soundscapes of his homeland.

Tour dates:

November
13 – Groningen, Netherlands – Oosterpoort
14 – Nijmegen, Netherlands – Doornroosje
15 – Maastricht, Netherlands – Muziekgieterij
16 – Brussels, Belgium – Botanique
17 – Bielefeld, Germany – Forum
19 – Lille, France – Splendid
20 – Brighton, United Kingdom – Concorde 2
21 – Manchester, United Kingdom – Club Academy
22 – Dublin, Ireland – Opium
23 – Glasgow, United Kingdom – Queen Margaret Union
24 – London, United Kingdom – Electric Brixon
26 – Paris, France – La Machine Du Moulin Rouge
27 – Rennes, France – Antipode
28 – Toulouse, France – Metronum
29 – Pamplona, ​​Spain – Totem
30 – Madrid, Spain – Sala Mon

December
1 – Barcelona, ​​Spain – Razzmatazz 2
3 – Milan, Italy – Alcatraz
4 – Pratteln, Switzerland – Z7
5 – Munich, Germany – Technikum
6 – Vienna, Austria – Simm City
7 – Warsaw, Poland – Proxima
8 – Leipzig, Germany – Täubchental
9 – Berlin, Germany – Metropol

Alignment of SOLSTAFIR:
Aðalbjörn Tryggvason: Guitar, vocals
Svavar Austmann: Bass
Hallgrímur Jón Hallgrímsson: Drums, backing vocals
Sæþór Maríus Sæþórsson: Guitar

(Photo – Katie Metcalfe)