Playlist: Felix Brady

What’s the best music video you’ve seen recently and why?

Kristof Brandl's Charlotte Cardin promo Like It Doesn’t Hurt. It isn’t really that recent but it’s the one music video that’s most recently had an impact on me. Kristof is just a master of light - he’s taken a relatively simple boy-meets-girl narrative to another level. A narrative which most people would shy away from because they might think it's been done before, in every which way possible. He tells the story in such a fresh way - giving this classic an edge which is beautifully simple.

What’s the first music video you remember being impressed by?

Mafia K'1 Fry Pour Ceux, hands down. It’s just mad authentic!

And what’s your all-time favourite music video?

That would be Jamie XX Gosh by Erik Wernquist (not the Romain Jarvis one - that’s obviously still sick, but I’ve just got a soft spot for sci-fi and the style just worked with the track so well). I think that was the first time I’ve been lost in a video - it totally transported me, I forgot where I was and was truly present.

What other directors/artists do you look to for inspiration?

I’m inspired a lot by my friends. I get most of my inspiration from geeking out a little bit on new and unexplored tech - or seeing something with potential and wanting to combine that with another medium, that could be through a narrative, a set element or even a prop. 

What are you listening to at the moment?

Since his death, I’ve gone back to listening to XXXTencion, specifically Look At Me - it just gets me hyped. Denzel Himself is sick and I would really love to do a music video for him. I’m also liking Slowthai too and just got tickets to his Bristol gig - that's gonna pop off. And Hanz Zimmer - The Thin Red Line soundtrack in particular. Journey to the Line is thought provoking.

What’s your favourite bit of tech, whether for professional or personal use?

Motion control I feel has so much more potential than it’s actually being used for right now, especially when you combine it with other tech and theories. Justin (my moco sensei) and I are creating some new rigs we are excited to explore soon with motion control… 

What artist(s) would you most like to work with and why?

Slowthai - I feel like his big character combined with a big technique would be a marriage made in heaven. Or Mo La Squale.. I just really get drawn to big characters who can hold themselves in front of the lens. 

How do you feel the music video industry has changed since you started in it?

I’m still new as a director but I think there is more and more opportunity out there. YouTube music feels like a cool new cool way to get into the industry. I have a couple of mates working over there and the word on the grapevine is they [YouTube] are investing into music videos soon off the back of increasing views being counted in the charts. 

Music videos have had a resurgence of late; where do you see the industry being in five years’ time?

Streaming is where it’s at right now, video views will start to directly affect the Billboard Top 100, services like Spotify will make it easier for us to actually watch the music we listen to. Meaning everything with ultimately be more connected and which in turn will produce more opportunities and money for video production… oh, and 9:16 aspect ratio (optimised for Instagram) music videos will become a bigger thing to watch out for.

Tell us one thing about yourself that most people won’t know…

I want to do a classical music video with a sick composer. I’m seeing some proper collaborative art-house camera technique thing…