MVM’s master of minimalism Stephen Chopek is back with a video for his new song “Could Have Been.” The song is from his new album Begin the Glimmer, which was recorded at Memphis’ Five and Dime studios and mixed by legendary Memphis producer Doug Easley. The album will be out on October 12th, and this week, Chopek is playing in Wisconsin, Arkansas, and St. Louis.
“Love and tea. Some things are worth waiting for,” he says.
Music Video Monday: Stephen Chopek
If you would like to see your music video on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com
Today’s Music Video Monday paints a pretty picture.
Stephen Chopek played all the instruments on his new double-A side single, “The Battle of Cash and Dean” and “Radio Caroline,” recorded at 5 and Dime studio and mixed by Doug Easley. The latter song is a salute to a British pirate radio station from the 1960s that broadcast from a ship in the English channel. Chopek also created this video, a masterclass in how to keep it simple and compelling.
Music Video Monday: Stephen Chopek
If you would like to see your music video on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com.
For our final Music Video Monday of 2015, I’m counting down the ten best videos of a fantastic year of collaboration between Memphis filmmakers and musicians.
I’m not usually one for lists, but hey, it’s the end of the year, so why not? This Top Ten list has13 entries, which just shows you how bad I am at this whole list thing. So here it is, the best Memphis music videos of 2015, arbitrarily chosen and ranked by me:
As with most things created by the time-travelling aristocrunks, this clip will have you asking where parody ends and actual decadence begins. Then you just won’t care.
For his latest entry in his solo project Vending Machine, Robby Grant enlisted some of the best directors in Memphis to create music videos. The best of the bunch, and the best Memphis music video of 2015, is this clip created by G. B. Shannon, with cinematographic help from Ryan Earl Parker and Edward Valibus, and ace editing by Ben Rednour.
Music Video Monday favorite Stephen Chopek returns with the first song from his new album.
This spooky clip for “Nothing Happens” was inspired by Chinese philosophy. “The video is a play on wei wu wei, a Chinese term meaning ‘action without action’ or ‘effortless doing’,” Chopek says. “The footage was shot in the lobby of a hotel in Spain at 4:00am. There was no plan to capture anything specific, other than what happened spontaneously. The “non-action” took place without any sort of control or force. The use of slow motion emphasizes a natural, unaffected way of behaving.”
“Nothing Happens” is the first single from Stephen Chopek’s upcoming album Things Moving On Their Own Together which will be released on September 29. The record release party will be this Friday, September 25, at FOUND, 2491 Broad Ave.
Music Video Monday: Stephen Chopek World Premiere
If you would like to see your video on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com.
The first official Music Video Monday is our second offering from Stephen Chopek.
“Staying” from the EP On Their Own is a about exploring a new city. Chopek relocated to Memphis from New Jersey last year. “A few places in Midtown caught my eye that I thought would work well for a music video. My goal was to capture moments as they presented themselves in order to express the spontaneity of exploration,” he says. “I collected a lot of footage without knowing which song I would would be using it for. When I decided that ‘Staying’ was going to be the single, everything fell into place. The video serves as both a visual accompaniment to music, and a love letter to my new home.”
Prominently featured in the video is Alex Warble’s giant mural on the west wall of the Hi-Tone’s former location on Poplar Avenue. Can we have that declared a landmark?
Music Video Monday: Stephen Chopek
This is Chopek’s second Music Video Monday. How did he get featured twice? He emailed cmccoy@memphisflyer.com!
Stephen Chopek recently moved to Memphis from his native New Jersey, and found a niche playing drums for both John Paul Keith and the guitarist’s project with Amy LaVere, Motel Mirrors. But Chopek also does his own thing, and “Systematic Collapse” is the first single from his new EP, Things Moving.
Chopek shot this video, using footage he shot while on the road, including scenes from Seattle, Washington, New Haven Connecticut, Rutherford, New Jersey, and Memphis. “I was touring a lot last year, and wanted to capture the moments between traveling and performing,” he says. “Most of the action in the video takes place at night, which is when I had time to get out and explore my surroundings”.
Chopek says the song is about the interconnected set of crises that defines our world today, but all is not doom and gloom. “The juxtaposition of a dancing horse, who also spins records, provides some comic relief for a song about a world in need of repair,” he says.
Music Video Monday: Stephen Chopek
How did Chopek’s music video come to be featured on Music Video Monday? He emailed me at cmccoy@memphisflyer.com! If you have a video you’d like to see here, that’s what you should do!
