Tag: Martin Matthews

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Film Features Film/TV

Music Video Monday: “Limelight Honey” by Lawrence Matthews

Multi-hyphenate hype man Lawrence Matthews is back with a new sound and a new music video. He’s shed his Don Lifted musical persona after three albums of ambient-infused angst (and many Music Video Monday appearances over the years).

Matthews’ new music has a harder edge, thanks to blues and R&B samples courtesy of the Fat Possum Records catalog that have been expertly reworked by producer C Major.

The video for Limelight Honey was created by Lawrence and his brother Martin Matthews. It expands on the austere style of his earlier videos, and promises a bold new direction for the artist. Take a look:

If you would like to see your music video featured on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com.

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Film Features Film/TV

Music Video Monday: “The Rope” by Don Lifted

Don Lifted played SXSW last week to support his new album 325i. The video for his latest single “The Rope” is a trippy affair showcasing the artist’s talent for creating an arresting image. Co-directed by his brother Martin Matthews and shot by Sam Leathers of Studio One Four Three, it features a misty recreation of Da Vinci’s The Last Supper. Let Lifted take your Monday higher with this atmospheric groove.

If you’d like to see your music video featured on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com.

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Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Lawrence Matthews’ Short Doc “The Hub” Premieres Online

Martin Matthews in ‘The Hub’

Musician and studio artist Lawrence Matthews has always had a multimedia practice. He got interested in film creating music video albums for his Don Lifted musical persona. Now, he has translated that video prowess into documentary film.

“The Hub” was directed by Matthews, who filmed and edited over the course of more than a year. It follows three young Black men, Martin Matthews, Najee Strickland, and Joncarlo Whitmore, as they try to navigate the minefield that is low-wage hourly work. Matthews highlights all the barriers which make making an honest living in Memphis so hard. Minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, and that makes building up any kind of emergency fund next to impossible. One unexpected expense and “the peanuts I’m saving are gone.”

Just getting around in Memphis is trouble, thanks to the sorry shape of public transportation. “The bus is super-trash,” says Strickland. “It’s intentional that the bus is that way.”

“The Hub” is a sobering, serious documentary which puts human faces on problems of poverty and oppression that are most often talked about only in abstract terms. Beginning today, Matthews is releasing it for free on Vimeo. You can watch it here:

The Hub from Lawrence Matthews on Vimeo.

Lawrence Matthews’ Short Doc ‘The Hub’ Premieres Online

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Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Music Video Monday: Don Lifted

Today’s Music Video Monday is going long.

Don Lifted’s Contour album from 2018 is a saga of teenage love and loss. It’s been the source of some of the best Memphis music videos of the last two years. All along, Don Lifted’s alter ego Lawrence Matthews (or is it the other way around?) has intended it as a multimedia experience, and has released the visual album on a DVD for sale at his shows. Now, he’s releasing the entire album online, and we’re bringing it to you here!

Contour is a mesmerizing 23 minutes. The low-key masterpiece video for “Muirfield,” shot by Kevin Brooks, takes on new meaning in the larger context. Matthews’ collaborated with Nubia Yasin for cinematography and editing, and Martin Matthews on camera.

Here’s the long-form video your quarantine needs:

Music Video Monday: Don Lifted

If you would like to see your music video on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com

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Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Don Lifted Premieres Contour Visual Album

Lawrence Matthews combines two of his multi talents with his newest project. Like his first album under the name Don Lifted, Alero, Contour is an autobiographical remembrance of teenage trauma. Each song on the album comes with an accompanying video, created by the artist along with Martin Matthews, Kevin Brooks, and Nubia Yasin.

Contour the visual album will bow tonight at Studio on the Square with a free screening at 8 p.m. The album will then go on sale and hit streaming services at midnight Friday. To give you a flavor of the work, here’s “Take Control Of Me”, a video from Alero  directed by frequent Matthews collaborator Kevin Brooks.

Don Lifted Premieres Contour Visual Album

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Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Music Video Monday: Don Lifted

Skate into the week with Music Video Monday.

Don Lifted is back with the third single from his upcoming record Contour, which was recently mastered by Mike Bozzi (Too Pimp a Butterfly, Damn, Ctrl, Flower Boy) of Bernie Grundman Mastering in Hollywood, Calif.

Each of the album’s songs will come with a video, which means you’re going to be seeing a lot of Don Lifted around these parts in the coming months.

“Pull Up (Duratec V6)” was shot by Nubia Yasin, Kevin Brooks, Bailey Smith, and Martin Matthews. The skaters in the video are Kirkwood Vangeli of Fluxus Skateboard Co., Indigo, and Chuck Craig. Don Lifted, aka Lawrence Matthews, directed, edited, and also skateboarded for the video.

Music Video Monday: Don Lifted

If you would like to see your music video featured on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com