Los Angeles-based techno-punk artist Cruel Kiss debuts a hyper-visual video for his new single “Blade.”
A series of images and symbols flip through a staticky retrofuturistic landscape, portraying “the duality of love and hate in a dreamscape of violent passion,” according to the artist. The intense, industrial-tinged track brings to mind Nine Inch Nails, Skinny Puppy, MVTANT, Youth Code, Crystal Castles, Phase Fatale, Gesaffelstein, and Paula Temple. It’s an intense journey, filled to the brim with anxiety and chaotic energy.
The imagery in the lo-fi video matches that of the music – a confusing yet intriguing jumble of sound and vision. “Roses are snapped by chains and partners dance with weapons, the imagery is powerful yet endearing,” says the artist.
“Blade” was shot on Super 8 film and run through an analogue video synthesizer by Phoenix Losavio; Dylan Gordon finished the effect on VHS for the human elements. “I wanted to have a raw and powerful visual element to match how visceral the song is,” he says.
Watch the video for “Blade” below:
Cruel Kiss is a DIY effort, after a lifetime of operating as a hired gun guitarist in various LA bands. This led to an obsession with synths, drum machines, sound design and recording. “For a while, I’ve felt debilitated by an endless pit of unreleased material,” he says. “I’ve felt isolated from engaging in the music community and sharing my work. Cruel Kiss is my rebirth from a long hiatus, and I look forward to creating an energy and being a part of the electronic community…Although my music is only electronic and sequential, there is a ton of emotion behind it. It’s raw feeling; it’s my outlet, it’s my reaction to the outside world on display.”
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