Bristol producer Hodge and his debut album Shadows In Blue is coming out next month via fabric’s Houndstooth imprint. And today we're premiering the second single from the album - Shadows In Blue.
Working in collaboration with visual artist Max Kelan and llustrator Will Sweeney, they've created a video by Ken Russel's Altered States and Ben Whealey’s A Field In England as well as Max’s own psychedelic experiences.
We've catch-up with Max Max Kelan, to know a bit more about the project:
Why did you decide to showcase such a personal experience?
I believe as an artist it is extremely important to document a large amount of my physical and mental experiences. If I have the ability to document a mood in a music video I am going to do it. Will Sweeny's images reminded me of past experiences of smoking Changra and DMT, so I guess my visuals were created to accompany that.
How was the video processed and what technique did you use?
It is a mixture of reflected images, VHS degradation and processing in VDMX and Adobe Premiere. I wanted to create my own images using Wills fantastic drawings.
Psychedelics drugs are gaining popularity with mental health treatments. Do you think the combination between them and music could bring even more benefits to those specific treatments?
I think it completely depends on the person and their own history with mental health. Personally, I've not really been one for regularly micro-dosing and I am most definitely not a spokesperson for these types of things but I do believe that magic mushrooms and other psychedelics have helped me see the world in a completely different way and have definitely on occasion given me a very refreshed outlook on life and my own life choices. The psychedelic visuals and music go hand in hand if expert doctors are exploring these areas I can only see it as a positive thing for some people but not necessarily all people.
As an artist, how can DMT experiences and any other external influences affect the way you create?
Well, I guess you are seeing completely different shapes and forms that you are not always used to as well as entering an almost non-linear (at least non-linear at surface level) narrative. These experiences are almost always individual and specific to each different person so occasionally taking some inspiration from this practice can be extremely influential.