Will stratton reveals “Black Hole” video

With his new album The Changing Wilderness due for release 7th May via Bella Union, and having previously shared the tracks ‘Tokens’ and ‘When I’ve Been Born (I’ll Love You)’, today Will Stratton reveals an intriguing video for his new single “Black Hole”.

Of the track Stratton says: “I wrote Black Hole shortly after our last president took office. I had spent the morning of the inauguration staring at a sculpture, a neon wall by Dan Flavin in the basement of a local museum. I tried to capture the energy that I felt staring at the green light in the dark. The song is about fascists and authoritarians of all kinds, how hard they are to completely shake once they take hold in the public consciousness, and how they tend to warp the minds of everyone in their proximity, even their opposition.”

Of the video he adds: “Donald Borenstein asked me if he could direct a video for one of the songs on this record almost a year and a half ago, and we became good friends. After some deliberations, we filmed the video over a chilly weekend last October, on the outskirts of the Iron Mountain data facility in Rosendale, New York, an underground complex full of meticulously stored corporate secrets and a whole wing of unused, cold war era hotel rooms built for use by executives in the event of a nuclear war. My partner Blair very generously agreed to act in this video, playing the role of a hiker who gets taken in by a mysterious force in the woods. The concrete mines of this area supplied much of the material for the Brooklyn Bridge and the base of the Statue of Liberty, and the visual phenomena left in the concrete’s absence makes for lovely late afternoon light. Thanks to Donald for working so hard on this over many months, and to Zappa Johns for putting many hours in on the visual effects, which were generated using textures made by the painter Bee Ebben.”

Early praise for upcoming album The Changing Wilderness:

“Having over the past 13 years sought to locate a stylistic mid-point somewhere between Jackson Browne and Nick Drake, Will Stratton has developed a musical character pretty much all his own… An album that sustains a beautiful atmosphere throughout.” MOJO – 4 stars ****

“Haunting and evocative… There’s an aching beauty to the major-to-minor chord changes on ‘Infertile Air’ while ‘The Rain’ is simply breathtaking.” Uncut – 8/10

“A singer-songwriter of pure class and quality… If deft fingerstyle guitar with warm vocals and thought-provoking lyrics are your thing then you are in for a real treat with The Changing Wilderness… The songs deal with current world issues, invoking the spirit of greats such as Leonard Cohen and Nick Drake… Wonderful.” Guitarist – 8/10