Taking us previously through streams of reeds, and floating through the countryside and dancing on a surfboard in "Limbs"; Fantastic returns with their self-made video for, "Darkness". Having already explored the splendor of the weird outdoors, the Gothenburg duo of Markus and Daniel takes through the hallways of a Berlin hotel and a gothed out a greenhouse to release the inner demons.
The explorations of inner good and evil attitudes and exorcisms are are taken through the red filters and dimensions of overlapped films. A candelabra decorated glass encased sanctuary is surrounded by an arboretum, where Fantastic begins their riff stewing song of complicated connections with, "I need the darkness, and the darkness needs me." These thoughts are carried through the hotel halls and spirited by the smoke shrill chords and backward-walking images of the band. These slow motion strolls and soft burning movements build a tension that takes the strange adventure to graffiti decorated courtyards, pubs, and then back to Fantastic's crystal clear cathedral surrounded by nature. The philosophical and visual duality of film effects, filters, and layers in "Darkness" continues the duo's tradition (as seen in the "Limbs" video), to turn the Europe they know into an alternate, subterranean warp zone.
Markus and Daniel talked to us again about their making of their latest video, with glimpses of things in the works.
I love the usage of filters and image layering in your videos, tell us about all the low-lit, candle adorned components that went into the making of your video for, "Darkness".
We like the idea of creating an almost surreal environment in out videos. The winter is really long and grey in Sweden and the Gothenburg area especially is not your picture perfect winterland, more of a grey slush type of vibe. So in order to get by and make it a little bit more tolerable we add color and psychedelic effects. To create the layering effect we used one lava lamp, 31 candelabras and a greenhouse.
What is it about the connection and dichotomy of, "I need the darkness, and the darkness needs me" relationship that is so alluring?
People tend to strive for perfection in their lives and in doing so they conceal different aspects and desires. Those kind of wants and needs often go against social acceptance and so to survive it's important that you derail yourself from time to time. You need the darkness and the darkness needs you. Embrace it.
I like the hallway shots here, what is it about corridors that always feed into the strange, spooky and surreal vibes of "Darkness"?
The hallway scenes were shot at this hotel in Berlin. Normally the TV monitors in each corner of the hallways play The Big Lebowski on repeat, unfortunately the system was broken when we were there. It's true that corridors are generally very cinematic and eerie. Two words – The Shining.
Given Gothenburg's incredible electro and metal scenes, what do you both take away from these local influences and relate to with your own music?
Even though you might describe our music as electronic most of it is recorded with analog instrumentation, more than often untuned. It´s really about taking bits and pieces from the different genres and make the best music that you can.
What is next for Fantastic?
We´re going on a field trip to Berlin again to shoot another video. We have a great location in mind so hopefully it'll turn out alright. We're also recording new stuff in the studio that we will release later this year.
What else has been happening in Gothenburg that exciting, this winter?
This Tuesday we saw the sun for the first time in four months!
Fantastic's self-titled EP arrives later this year.
