The Old Year Debut Their Video for Electro-Pop Single “I’ve Been Dreaming”

Writer/Director Jonathan Ade and his production company Jonokino have teamed up with boutique production company Best Frenemies to produce a new music video for electronic/pop single I’ve Been Dreaming, a brainchild of Brooklyn/DC duo The Old Year (Laura Eve Engel and Paul Erik Lipp). The video is set to release worldwide October 9th, 2020.

Drawing on rock, country, and jazz influences from the 1940s-60s, as well as standards from the Great American Songbook, The Old Year brings forth dark pop songs shimmering with nostalgia, with dreams toward a brighter future. The rich vocals are peppered with a synth, hearkening back to that “80s does 50s” sound with a bluesy, Lynchian touch. I’ve Been Dreaming has a wistful feeling: a little bit of the sentiment behind the Rolling Stones’ As Tears Go By, a little bit of that delicious Kirsty MacColl kick.

The aesthetic is echoed in the video’s dreamscape, with hot spotlights illuminating scenes in a darkened roller rink. It calls to mind those half-remembered childhood excursions wheeling around the concrete loop, the flashes of the strobe, the dizzying disco ball, the sinister innocence of early adolescence. It also has that eerie feel of a ghost hunting show, but the only ghosts here are fuzzy memories and the evolution of youth.

“Laura Eve is one of my oldest and dearest friends, and when she started collaborating with Paul, I knew I wanted to make a video for this group,” Ade says. “When I first listened to this single, I was brought back to my teenage years: the testing of boundaries, the trying on and rejecting of personas, the continual discovery of who we are as individuals. I think the final video reflects those ideas. It’s also kinda spooky.”

The executive producer of Best Frenemies, Gabe Meyers, adds a few thoughts: “We’re thrilled to bring Jonathan’s concept to fruition as Best Frenemies’s premiere music video production. Helping a director with such a distinct voice put his vision on film is what Best Frenemies does best. “We hope to work with Jonathan again soon.”

Watch the video for “I’ve Been Dreaming” below: