Cover Photo:
Ellington’s ‘Sun To Rise!’ Music Video.
Ellington’s latest single merges grungy rock, an almost hypnotic stop motion music video, and a message that seems more important than ever before.
‘Sun To Rise!’ shows off Ellington’s skills as an artist. The initial rock sound makes way for a much softer melody, before jumping straight back into the rock-led chorus.
The track was written and produced by Ellington himself, with him recruiting producer Mark Needham (who has worked with artists such as The Killers and The 1975) to help mix and master the song.
The track is punchy and powerful, reflective of the message in the lyrics. “The song is about moments where the only way is up and the freedom you feel in those moments,” Ellington explains. “That part of my life was a serious 180, but sometimes you have to push through and wait for the sun to rise.”
It’s a feeling that far too many will know all too well. It’s a message that the world has been feeling more than ever over the past year, as we all, together, waited in quarantine for the sun to rise.
“Making videos during quarantine forces you to be creative,” Ellington adds. In fact, the music video for ‘Sun To Rise!’ is a work of art in its own right. On the first watch, the stop motion photography video seems deceivingly simple. Yet every single photograph reveals a completely different story.
The photographs blend into each other, creating a disjointed yet flowing paradox. When asked about the inspiration behind the video, Ellington reveals that some of his favourite music videos were created in the stop motion style; though he had “never seen one that used flash photography or took place completely at night.”
“My fiancé and I shot the whole thing on her old DSLR from high school with a faulty external flash as I drug us around to different spots in LA,” Ellington then continues. “Including the old abandoned zoo in Griffith Park, where I definitely felt something brush against me that wasn’t really there… if you catch my drift.”
In the end, it’s a music video that feels familiar yet alien, normal yet paranormal, with the flash casting shadows and highlights that stay on our screen for only moments as we follow Ellington around Los Angeles.
The whole experience has been a learning curve for the artist. “I’ve learned that no two parts of one’s career are the same,” he explains. “This has been a whole crash course for me in comparison to what the last parts of my career have been like, and if anything, it’s affirmed my decision to believe in myself and to strive for something I didn’t even have enough faith in to consider a few years ago. I am very thankful, and very much looking forward to the future.”
‘Sun To Rise!’ is easy to get lost in, with the alt-rock sound and distorted guitars underpinning some surprisingly feel-good lyrics. Listen to the single, watch the music video, and keep waiting for the sun to rise.
Charlotte Roberts is a freelance journalist and a music lover. You can follow her on Twitter here and Instagram here.
ECHOWAVE MAGAZINE 