“There’s got to be more than this tired town”... sings
@orvillepeck , as he drifts away to rural NSW, capturing small-town ennui and extends a country salute to the young misfits of the world in this week’s Feature Video ‘Drift Away’.
Though the often masked, South African born country musician spends much of his time in the Northern Hemisphere, his music video for ‘Drift Away’ was shot down under by Aussie-based directing team
@tillyrobba and
@stephgarciajowett , also known as
@studio.antics . "We have always been fans of Orville Peck, so when this came along, it was a dream project” says the pair. “When we heard the track, we were instantly taken back to our 17-year-old selves. As two queer kids who grew up in small towns, Tilly in Australia and Steph in New Zealand, we wanted this video to feel like a love letter to who we were then. We pictured a 16mm cinematic world that could hold two feelings at once: a sweet melancholy and a hopeful joy. In places where there isn’t much to do, the limits of small town life force you to make your own fun, and that spirit became the heartbeat of this video."
Inspired by the new queer cinema films of the 90s and early 2000s, Tilly and Steph left the studio to work on their (location) antics, creating characters and scenes to reflect the mood of Orville’s reflective, nostalgic track. "We built the world around a crew of young misfits, each experimenting with who they could become. They all come from a different subculture, and honestly, they shouldn’t fit together but in a small town, they somehow do. The misfits are seen through the eyes of the lead, Callina Liang."
Shot across one and a half days in two locations, Orville’s luxurious blue-velvet-curtianed performance beams out, inspired by a mixture of Strictly Ballroom and Lynchian surrealism (Mulholland Drive, anyone?). Meanwhile, a cast of beautiful outsiders and one actual Wiggle (dare not blink and miss), portray a snapshot of mispent youth and small-town queerness. Bittersweet but full of hope.
