Ghost Funk Orchestra Presents First-Ever Animated Music Video
Videos by American Songwriter
With such a large crew, these times are not ideal for Ghost Funk Orchestra, but they are finding creative ways to get through it.
Bandleader/composer Seth Applebaum has taken on a lot recently because the band members have been unable to meet all together since the beginning of the year. Luckily, they were able to record and finalize their LP, “An Ode To Escapism,” before they had to be separated.
Since they can’t do any kind of full live stream shows or perform on a stage, Applebaum took it upon himself to learn a new skill in order to have a music video that doesn’t involve his band members gathering in person.
With no prior animation experience, Applebaum was able to create this animated music video in about two months. His hard work doesn’t go unnoticed as it takes a lot of time and patience to teach yourself this type of design.
“I thought, ‘I’ve got all this time and I have always been interested in animation so I might as well take a stab at it and see if I can pull it off,’” says Applebaum.
“I was very adamant that I wanted to repeat as few frames as possible. I wanted to keep it moving as much as I could with new visuals.”
The band has released plenty of music videos before, but never one like this
The video is focused mostly on the song, “Step Back Wild Child,” but other aspects of the album are also incorporated into it.
“There’s this whole idea across the record that is ‘we see what’s happening in the outside world’ and the person who is navigating this record is scared to go outside because it’s uncertain and there’s a lot of scary things happening.”
While it’s vague enough that the audience can hear the words and relate it to their lives, he also has a powerful message behind this song and the rest of the album.
“The theme of it is that things are not changing, how did we get this low and why do we move so slow. It’s kind of about how it feels like we keep taking all these steps backwards.”
Strangely enough, the album was completed a few months prior to the lockdown, but some of the themes are even more relevant in the current stage of the world.
“There’s a lot in the lyrics on this record that are pretty on the nose for how things have shaken out between pandemic anxiety and all of the civil unrest,” says Applebaum.
This video will lead into the release of the record, which is now available to pre-order.
Check out the music video for the first time down below:
