What a relief it is that the xx, three years post-hype storm, has not become terrible. The extrapolation of dance/club music to sultry, ubersparse night-drive pop feels as perfect now — or even more honed — as it did in 2009. And in this world of nu-dance you-know-what, that also feels downright crucial. Here’s the just-out video for “Chained,” the lead single from the xx’s very recent follow-up Coexist. Along with Flying Lotus’ also just released Until the Quiet Comes, find all the hope you need for popular electronic music in 2012.Motherboard’s sister site the Creators Project had a hand in bringing the video to life, along with LA production crew Young Replicant. TCP has an interview with director Alex Takacs up now:Describe the process of filming "Chained," and also the idea for the video overall.From the beginning, Romy, Oliver, and Jamie had a very specific idea in mind for this video, so the process was intensely collaborative. Our goal was to create something that was understated and abstract but with just enough narrative tension to drive the images and channel the emotional quality of the music. It's about three separate paths that converge under the light of an otherworldly phenomenon—three friends connected to one another. We wanted it to be elemental and true to the persona of the band rather than create fictional characters or an elaborate cosmology.Read the rest here.Reach this writer at michaelb@motherboard.tv.
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