I recently directed a music video for legendary reggae duo Steel Pulse and Easy Star All-Stars.
Founded and led by producer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist Michael Goldwasser, Easy Star All-Stars have established themselves as one of the top reggae acts on the international scene for the better part of the past two decades. During that same period, they’ve managed to tour in over 30 countries on six continents while brining together fans of reggae, classic rock, dub, indie rock and pop into one big family as a result of their collection of critically acclaimed reggae tribute albums that includes 2003’s Dub Side of the Moon, 2006’s Radiodread, 2009’s Easy Star’s Lonely Hearts Dub Band and 2012’s Easy Star’s Thrillah — and 2010’s remix album, Dubber Side of the Moon. They also have two releases of original material, 2008’s Until That Day EP and 2011’s First Light.
Now, they've returned alongside Birmingham’s Steel Pulse for their newest single and visuals, "Five Years" from their upcoming album named, "Ziggy Stardub" out April 21st via Easy Star Records. The project is a reggae reimagining of David Bowie’s "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars".
Featuring vocals by Grammy-winning roots reggae band Steel Pulse, the soulful rendition of the track keeps the intergalactic flair of the original alive with the All-Stars’ signature reggae genius, as David Hinds" magnetic vocals flourish with emotion highlighting the soaring, apocalyptic attitude of the ballad.
When Easy Star Records approached me to create the video for "Five Years," it was a heavy challenge to come up with a concept that would even stand close to the epic scale of David Bowie’s lyrics. I wanted the visuals to pay homage to the story, but also world-build in an interesting and cinematic way. We decided to lean into miniatures, taking that grand narrative down to a more feasible scale.
Ultimately, my goal was to make a David Bowie video, rather a typical reggae video, and Easy Star Records was incredibly supportive of that. Great collaborators.
Director - Robert Bartolome
Production Design - Amanda Lynn
Additional Art - Gunnar Motta
Miniatures - ChrisPy Joe
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