justmadnice /
Field Recordings

Three field recordings showcase the rare and vibrant talent of transdisciplinary artist justmadnice.

An emerging artist, justmadnice is writing, composing, and arranging music at a rapid pace. We decided to honor that prolificness through a series of live field recordings that capture the tracks in their most raw and stripped down form. Three tracks were performed and filmed in a different natural outdoor setting in the artist’s hometown of Philadelphia, allowing their talent and expressive spirit to shine through. Each track was then re-mixed and made available as a single.

For “Water and the Wind,” we staged the performance in an old stone river drainage tunnel, using the stone for it’s natural sonic reverberation as well as recalling the water in the song’s title. We utilized double exposure composites and silhouettes and filmed in a high-contrast black and white to add a bit of cinematic drama.

For “Tightrope,” we went looking for a location that would do justice to the strangely beautiful and melancholic tone of the song. While location scouting for the series, I came across a fieldstone bridge in Wissahickon Valley Park that almost felt like a stage environment for an outdoor performance. The surrounding gorge had inspired the likes of mystic Johannes Kelpius, abolitionist John Greenleaf Whittier, and Edgar Allan Poe. We positioned the artist on the bridge among the changing leaves and vibrant fall sunlight.

For “Hunny," we decided to film a visual triptych. The simplicity and tonal palette of the song reminded me a bit of the music made by early Delta blues artists like Ma Rainey, Robert Johnson, and Son House. We searched for a location that could recall the sort of place you might imagine one of those blues legends making an early recording, landing on a disused public golf course that had been allowed to go back to being wild. We filmed during the last hour of light—when the critters start making their noise—adding an extra dimension to the recording. Something about that felt right for the song. 

Team

Production Reflektor
Director Keith Ehrlich
Producer Reflektor
Director of Photography Reflektor
Editor Reflektor

Next project