People should be talking about Great Lake Swimmers. I’ve been enjoying the hell out of their music for the past few years, and with their third proper release making its way stateside this May, quite frankly, you should be talking about them too. The new album Ongiara is full of atmospheric folk, anchored by the beautiful and captivating voice of Tony Dekker; some of their strongest work to date. If you are up on the SRO podcast, last month you were treated to one of the best tracks (Your Rocky Spine) off the new album, and if you let yourself down by not subscribing, then just know that this album will be one of the years best. Get on it now. For all you digital-music savvy folks, you can actually download it from Itunes or Emusic this very minute.

Our good friend Scott Cudmore directed a beautiful clip for their song, ‘Back Stage With the Modern Dancers’, and he wants you to watch and love it.

Once again Scott proves his skill behind the camera, directing a delightful and captivating clip, allowing the soft and somber mood of Great Lake Swimmers to come alive on film — transferring the enjoyable and mesmerizing music of Tony Dekker (principle singer/songwriter of Great Lake Swimmers) flawlessly. His voice is a calming wave that washes over you, leaving a sense wonder and a memory, lingering just outside of your ability to grasp its meaning or relevance. Scott’s video should be enjoyed for exactly the same reasons. Not meant to be literal, but rather an atmospheric clip that is more enjoyable for its lack of any explanations. Scott’s summary of his work is much more elegant and informative, so I’ll let him say a few words:

I think I’ve become less and less interested in those specifics, and more and more interested in the general over-all atmosphere and feeling of the thing (with regard to film in general). In the same way when you look at a landscape, or hear a piece of music, there may be no way of explaining why it’s moving. I guess it’s what Werner Herzog calls an “ecstatic truth”. I always respond much more to those types of images and sounds and I’m tiring of literal metaphors. I think they’re actually pretty much useless. Symbolism is arrogant and useless also. I’ll offer this, however: I see the space these people are in as a sort of limbo, a place out-of-time. It could exist anywhere, could be literally interpreted as anywhere: backstage, somebody’s home, it doesn’t matter. The photograph at the end is a picture of a vast mountain range (the B.C. Rockies actually) and is in complete contrast with the confined and bland space the people inhabit. I don’t know what this is a metaphor for, but for me, it provokes a feeling of mourning/longing. Which is how the song speaks to me as well, for equally inexplicable reasons. Why is it that certain notes, when put together in a certain way, can be incredible moving? If we know what these people are waiting for/captivated by/etc, then I think the images lose some (or all) of their power. Everything was very meditated to serve the atmosphere of the song, to compliment it, and articulate that mood and tone into images.

Thanks to Scott for once again giving us access to his work and sharing his time with us. Also, please go out and support GLS, buy the album, tell a friend, or just talk about it on your blog. I know you have one.