Here are some of the best DIY indie music videos that have been sent in during recent weeks from around the world. Support DIY and indie! As usual, a full audio playlist for non-stop streaming of the tracks themselves is featured at the end of the post.
Heavy Heart – London, England
The Gallery – Wakefield, England
Cameron Elise – San Marcos, Texas
Beke – Mexico City, Mexico
The OCN – Washington, D.C.
Dan Rose – Copenhagen, Denmark
Mystery Art Orchestra – Berlin, Germany
Black Palms Orchestra – Vienna, Austria
Heavy Heart – “Bed Bug”
The new London band Heavy Heart has recently won praise from influential U.K. outlets, including The NME, BBC 6 and BBC Radio thanks to the emotional, dreamy single, “Bed Bug.”
The song was mixed and co-produced by Grammy-Award winning producer Gabe Wax (The War On Drugs, Soccer Mommy). There is a dark undertow to the song and video, with sorrow-filled melodies and slow beats.
The mysterious vocals of Anna Vincent together with other band members’ contributions – guitarists Patrick Fitzroy (guitar, backing vocals) and James Vincent, drummer Craig Brown, and bassist Max Bloom – complete the song and video.
A multi-lens analog video camera was employed by director David Zbirka to bring to visual life the song, using what Zbirka says was a “unique 3D effect” in the music video.
Bands Opened For: Another Sky, Big Spring, Desert Mountain Tribe, Zipper Club
Musical influences: Radiohead, Blonde Redhead, Jeff Buckley, The Twilight Sad
The Gallery – “Pesticide”
The Gallery is a four-piece indie rock band based out of Wakefield, England. The band’s new music video, “Pesticide,” is an energy-filled post-punk style rocker from beginning to end. And these young lads clearly enjoy themselves as well. And yet that in no way means they don’t take their music seriously – they do.
“We aim to redesign what a guitar band can be and convert their post-punk nihilistic flavors with hooks and rock tendencies,” says guitarist Joe Anderson-Smith.
The Gallery has opened for well-known alt bands like Pretty Vicious, No Hot Ashes and The Academic and they’ve performed at the Live at Leeds and Kendal Calling music festivals. The other three band members are drummer Benjamin Whiteley; bassist Sam Hawcroft and vocalist Matthew Rees.
Bands Opened For: Pretty Vicious, The Academic, No Hot Ashes
Musical Influences: Joy Division, Wolf Alice, Smashing Pumpkins, REM, The Fall, David Bowie
Cameron Elise – “East Side”
Cameron Elise is a singer-songwriter from San Marcos, Texas, outside of Austin. Her band’s new single, “East Side,” demonstrates her inept songwriting abilities and vocal strengths. The track is bluesy and folksy at the same time with strata of rock and soul.
Elise has been writing songs since childhood and has performed live throughout Texas for the past decade. The album that supports the single is titled Et Alia; it’s a “luscious blend of folk, soul, and Latin with a haunting spiritual touch.”
She also performs acoustic guitar supported by bandmates Enzo Azul on electric guitar; Jake Davila on drums and David Beck on bass. We love her smooth almost smoky vocals; they set a mood that works nicely with the instrumentation. This is just the beginning of an exciting new band.
Bands Opened For: Those Nights, Robert Kuhn, Marshall Anderson, Dem, The Deer
Musical Influences: Ruthie Foster, Cat Power, Joni Mitchell, Fiona Apple, Janis Joplin, Bebe
Beke – “Love Me Twice”
Based in Mexico City, Mexico, the DIY indie/alt. rock band Beke that got our attention with the new debut single, “Love Me Twice,” and the evocative accompanying music video. We don’t know much about the band but its new indie single was mixed by Bruno Ellingham (Massive Attack, UNKLE).
“The song is a very special song for us because is the first we created together as a band,” said vocalist and accordionist Daniela Mandoki. “We wanted to express through sounds the intimacy that exists in a relationship and how sometimes it feels like there is nothing outside this world build for two.”
She said the use of mirrors and reflections “symbolize that sometimes what we see in others is just a reflection of the emptiness within us.”
The other talented band members of Beke include Luis Rodríguez (guitar); Javier Jara (drums); Leo Díaz (guitar) and Aquiles Cantarell (bass).
Bands Opened For: No one yet
Musical Influences: Radiohead, Massive Attack, King Crimson
The OCN – “Baby Blue”
The song “Baby Blue” by Washington DC duo The OCN is one of those rare ‘cute, but sad’ melodic songs which are difficult to get out of your head.
The duo is a collaboration between two sisters, and DIY artists – songwriter and vocalist Olivia Taginya and guitarist Roxana Taginya. They are also both 22 years old and Libras.
The story behind the song, according to Liv (Olivia), has to do with watching friends change, grow and face challenges during the transition from teen to adult.
“Knowing them, they would never admit anything is wrong,” Liv says. “So, this inspired me to write the song as my way of saying that I know and understand where they’re at.
The duo’s debut album, Baby Blue, will drop this summer. “Every song in the album has a time period attributing to its sound which is why Baby Blue sounds beachy,” she adds.
Bands Opened For: None
Musical Influences: Alabama Shakes, Queen
Dan Rose – “You Don’t Always Need A Plan”
With an acoustic guitar and a fondness for rock music and singer/songwriter vibes, plus +100 shows in ten-plus countries, Danish songwriter, vocalist, guitarist, and keyboardist Dan Rose’s (aka Dan Kiilerich Rosemunte) new single, “You Don’t Always Need A Plan” is a slow-burning alt. rock ballad that also makes a statement. It reminds us just a little of Mac DeMarco and Kurt Vile.
Rose mixes genres like rock, pop and alternative with some folk-punk in the vein of Jesse Malin and Ryan Adams. On April 16th, Rose dropped his debut album, No Time For Fear, produced by Greg Haver (Manic Street Preachers, Catatonia). The single is just one of a number of original and standout songs on the LP.
Bands Opened For: Sunflower Bean, Blonde Redhead
Musical Influences: Mac DeMarco, Bright Eyes/Conor Oberst, Nirvana
Mystery Art Orchestra – “Losing Relation”
The Berlin-based band, Mystery Art Orchestra, released its debut album, Prismatic Dream, last December to critical acclaim. The LP was the result of a six-year-long writing, recording and mixing process.
Due to the success of that album and some packed live performances, the band has returned with the new 7″ vinyl, “Enjoy The Violence”. The music video above is the B-side “Losing Relation”. The band’s sound is a fantastic blend of post-punk, new wave and neo-psychedelia styles.
The success of the band is in part thanks to the experience and skills of musicians Tino Bogedaly; André Wlodarski and Bastian Müller. The trio’s big multi-layered sounds are impressive.
Bands Opened For: None
Musical Influences: “60s, ’80s, daily life”
Black Palms Orchestra – “Very Own Saints”
The new album, Tropical Gothic, from Vienna, Austria’s Black Palms Orchestra has been dropped, featuring the gritty single and music video “Very Own Saints.”
The album is a celebration of ‘pleasures of contrasts’ including “Sunburn and darkness, religion and sex, road movie romance and apocalyptic images.”
Additionally, Scott McCloud (Girls Against Boys) and Swedish singer Jonas Almqvist appear on the album. The band has a number of unconventional descriptors for the types of genres they play: “Future Rock’n’Roll. Doom Pop. Country Noir.”
Bands Opened For: None
Musical Influences: Nick Cave, The Kinks
