Danny Lee Blackwell, the L.A.-based artist who carries with him a deep love for psychedelic music in all its various forms, is back this year with “Rajan”, a new album he recorded under the name Night Beats that’s set to be co-released on July 14th by Suicide Squeeze and Fuzz Club Records. Exciting news on its own, but the multi-talented musician continues to amp up our anticipation this morning with a fresh single from this record “Thank You,” complete with a brilliantly trippy video.
The clip, directed by Austin filmmaker Vanessa Pla, feels like equal parts Alejandro Jodorowsky, Black Orpheus and The Mighty Boosh as Blackwell finds himself in the company of — and is slowly swallowed up by a group of masked figures that, at one point, leave him completely naked on the floor while the camera spins overhead.
Read into these eye-popping visuals what you will, but here’s what Blackwell had to say about this new video:
Collaborating with Vanessa Pla, the director of the “Thank You” music video, has been an exceptional experience. Vanessa has a profound understanding of the creative process, and has helped me to transform my concept into a meaningful work of art. In the video, the 12 masked figures symbolize the limitations of our innermost desires and struggles, as the story follows an alchemical journey of transformation. Vanessa’s vision for the video was to highlight the power of transformation as an alchemical process, which reinforces the significance of the simple gesture of saying “Thank You.” This concept challenged me as an artist to explore deeper meanings and to convey them through simple ideas. Through our collaboration, we were able to create a compelling visual story that captures the essence of transformation and gratitude.
The Fat Angel Sings 