Big Noble - “Ocean Picture” (Official Video)

Big Noble is a collaboration between Daniel Kessler of Interpol and sound designer Joseph Fraioli, and considering the way the video for their first track, “Peg,” opened, I’m going to assume the name is taken from the stately Noble fir tree. The full album that Kessler and Fraioli did together is called First Light, and it plays with sound and landscape in experimental ways. “Ocean Picture” opens with the sound of waves crashing, but they didn’t take the easy route and use beach imagery for the accompanying video. Instead, as the video’s director Daniel Ryan explained in an interview, the concept is a take on a woodcut print Felix Vallotton called “L’Assassinat” — which obviously translates to “The Assassination.” Intimate and extremely close-up details give the video an ominous feel, and considering it’s the first music video shot entirely on the new Lytro Illum light-field camera, the clarity and precision of the shots aren’t surprising. More like watching a series of gradually developing photographs than watching a video, the warping, tension-filled guitar tones add a building drama to the process. And instead of being comforting, the quiet backbone of piano makes whatever doom is approaching feel inevitable. Watch the mesmerizing video below and try not to glance over your shoulder in fearful anticipation while you do.