In the quiet chaos of 3am when bars have emptied, streets glisten with after-rain shimmer and the city feels like it’s catching its breath, MASSEY drops a groove that captures the electricity of that fleeting in-between hour.
“3:00 AM FUNK” isn’t just a vibe. It’s a fully formed nocturnal world built from rhythm, introspection and soul.
Listen in here:
It all opens with a steady, low-slung pulse courtesy of Charlie Wooton’s bass and Doug Belote’s hypnotic drums. Together they work to create the heartbeat of the song, which is measured, magnetic and endlessly listenable. This is a groove that knows how to hold space without rushing forwards. It invites you in and makes you stay.
Guitarists Peter Oravetz and Daniel Groover add fire and texture — dueling one moment and swirling the next — creating a mood that shifts between a swagger and a dream. Their use of reversed guitar loops gives “3:00AM Funk” a psychedelic hint. The 504 Horns (Jason Parfait on saxes and Ian Smith on trumpet and trombone) burst into the mix with brass lines that flash like headlights. All bold, stylish and unmistakably alive.
But “3:00AM Funk” doesn’t just skim the surface of party scene; it digs deeper. MASSEY sings about late night wandering, social saturation and emotional absence. Of longing for something genuine in a world built on performance. And yet, the song is not cynical in any way. It does hold space for beauty too. For those fleeting moments of eye contact, laughter or vulnerability that pierces the surface.
The accompanying music video, which was shot on the vibrant pulsing streets of Denver, matches the song’s mood perfectly – part fever dream, part soul search:
With “3:00 AM Funk,” MASSEY gives the listener a soundtrack for dancing and for feeling. For when the party fades and the questions echo louder.
Reeya Banerjee’s new single “Misery of Place” isn’t just a standout moment on her upcoming album “This Place”. This is the album’s emotional thesis, wrapped up in crunchy guitars, sharp lyrics and a healthy dose of self-aware swagger.
Inspired by a haunting question that first surfaced in her teenage years – “Are you experiencing misery of place, or profound, lifelong misery of self?” — the song digs into the complex relationship between geography and identity, asking how much of our discontent is rooted in where we are. And, how much in who we are.
To bring those layered themes to life visually, Banerjee teamed up with longtime friend and visual literacy expert Kelly Kingman-Joslyn, whose work translates complex ideas into striking hand-drawn images.
The result is a music video that’s anything but traditional. It is more of a moving sketchbook full of flickering memories, half-thoughts, bold colors and scribbled commentary. It’s part animation, part stream-of-consciousness and entirely unique.
In this exclusive interview, Banerjee explores the origins of Misery of Place, the question that’s haunted her for over 20 years, and the deeply personal (and creatively rich) process of making the video with Kingman-Joslyn.
1. Tell us the story of this song, Why did you choose to visualize this song specifically in this way?
“Misery of Place” is essentially the thesis statement of my upcoming record, “This Place” — a collection of songs exploring how the places we live leave emotional imprints on us.
The song was inspired by a question that’s been rattling around in my brain since high school — over 20 years ago(!): “Are you experiencing misery of place, or profound, lifelong misery of self?”
It came from a teacher, passed along through a friend, and at the time, I was furious. I was 17, and it felt cruel and unhelpful — like, what kind of teacher says something that brutal to a kid still figuring out who they are?
And yet… the question stuck. Through every move and transition in my life, I kept coming back to it. It shaped how I think about identity, belonging, and change — how much of what we feel is about where we are, and how much is about who we are.
This song wrestles with that tension — between geography (physical and existential) and self — and it does it with crunchy guitars, narrative lyrics that nod to Bruce Springsteen’s character-driven storytelling (with a smirk), and the sonic swagger of the 90s power pop I grew up on. It felt right to kick off the album cycle with this one, because it asks the question the rest of the record is trying to answer.
2. What was the inspiration behind this new video (visuals, storyline, etc.)?
I didn’t want a traditional narrative video for this song — the song itself is full of characters, but it’s also packed with doubt, cheek, and internal monologue. So I teamed up with my dear friend Kelly Kingman-Joslyn, a visual literacy expert whose job is literally to transform spoken ideas into powerful, hand-drawn visuals. She works with keynote speakers at corporate events, sketching huge live illustrations on whiteboards or easel pads to help visual learners absorb complex ideas — and she also creates animation videos for clients like Goldman Sachs.
That combination of clarity, creativity, and abstraction made her the perfect person to bring Misery of Place to life. I wanted the video to feel like flipping through someone’s subconscious — a swirl of memory, sarcasm, self-doubt, and scribbled footnotes.
Instead of telling a linear story, the video leans into abstraction: sketchbook textures, bursts of color, and hand-written text that echo the psychological layers of the song. It’s part inner monologue, part visual essay — and it adds a new dimension to the song’s central question.
3. What was the process of making the video?
The video was a true collaboration, but also an act of deep trust. I gave Kelly the track and a brain dump of what the song meant to me — a mix of stories, reflections, and the emotional weight behind the lyrics. Then I stepped back.
I trusted her completely to take all of that and filter it through her own artistic lens. Her ability to translate words and feeling into image is extraordinary, and I knew the best thing I could do was give her the space to do what she does best.
There was also something quietly full-circle about working with Kelly. She’s married to one of my closest friends — we met freshman year of college, and after graduation, we were roommates for nearly a decade. He moved out when he married her! So asking Kelly to make this video kind of felt like calling on family. That trust wasn’t just creative — it was personal.
Kelly is based in Beacon, NY — a small city in the Hudson Valley with an enormous artist community. It’s a place filled with visual artists, filmmakers, photographers, writers, and musicians, many of whom I’ve crossed paths with over the years. I lived there for a long time, and it was one of the most creatively rich chapters of my life. So in a way, this video wasn’t just a collaboration between two artists — it was a product of a larger creative ecosystem I was once part of.
A community-rooted project in every sense. We didn’t storyboard it traditionally. Instead, Kelly treated it like a live sketchbook in motion, responding to the song’s tone and energy in real time. What she created was a moving mural — quirky, emotional, and raw — that mirrors the rhythm and spirit of the song itself.
Keep up to date with Reeya Banerjee on her Website.
In a powerful tribute to Earth Day, singer, harpist and songwriter Kristy Chmura releases a re-imagined version of her song “Wake Up”.This is a heartfelt environmental anthem that brings together music, activism and visual storytelling.
Originally released on her 2018 debut solo album “Stained…Glass Heart”, the song now returns with a fresh cinematic arrangement and a compelling music video that shines a spotlight on the urgency of protecting our planet.
Deeply rooted in her love for nature and her decade-long commitment as a volunteer with her town’s Shade Tree Commission, Kristy’s passion for trees, forests and wildlife pulses through every frame of this video.
Collaborating with world-class musicians Christian Eigner and Niko Stoessl, along with longtime creative partner Damien Musto, Kristy brings new life to “Wake Up” through haunting melodies, stunning visuals and a message that resonates deeply in today’s climate.
In this interview, Kristy shares the story behind the song, the inspiration for the video and the creative process that brought this urgent and moving project to life:
1.Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically inthis way?
The seed for my song “Wake Up” was planted a while ago. I released my original version of “Wake Up” with my longtime creative partner, Damien Musto back in 2018 on my debut solo album, “Stained…Glass Heart”.
I’ve always felt a deep connection to nature, a sense of belonging that resonates in my soul especially whenever I’m surrounded by trees, and I was becoming increasingly worried and distressed by what I would see in the media: the destruction and attacks on our environment, and how greed and thoughtlessness towards the planet hurts us all.
All these things overwhelmed me – the images of deforestation, the oil spills, the sheer disregard for our planet, even seeing things in my own community like clear cutting properties for new construction – I reached a point where the the inner activist in me became ignited. It wasn’t just about the planet; it was a personal ache, a sense of loss. I had to do something, I couldn’t stand by any longer, so I used what I have: my voice.”
“Wake Up” is a call to action to myself and to anyone, reminding us we need to look within ourselves and become more conscious of how our actions affect one another. We’re all part of a giant ecosystem. If we each do something, no matter how big or small, that contributes to solutions and creating health and balance for our environment – that’s a step in the right direction, and we need to keep going in that direction one step at a time. Sometimes that first step is just becoming more self-aware.
This newly reimagined version of “Wake Up” came to be because one summer, the smoke from the Canadian forest fires drifted south, casting a pall over New Jersey. The air hung heavy, and the poor air quality made it challenging to breathe. The sun was a hazy orange disk in the sky, and you could smell the wood burning from hundreds of miles away. Experiencing that broke my heart, thinking of the acres of trees and the extreme impact on the entire ecosystem.
This reignited the pull inside me to want to do something to help, so I turned to my music once again. I reached out to my team of music collaborators—Christian Eigner, Niko Stoessl, and Damien Musto—and told them I had this idea to rearrange my original version of “Wake Up” into something new and bigger, because I felt the song had an important message that needed to be heard. They were all on board, and there was an electric energy between us as we created this more pop/alternative style of “Wake Up”.
I decided to visualize this song in this specific way because I wanted to make the video more about delivering the message and bringing this important global issue about the health of our planet to the spotlight.
2. What was the inspiration behind this new video (visuals, storyline, etc.)?
The inspiration behind this new video came from many things – I like watching documentaries about the environment on Pattrn TV, and I’ve always been incredibly moved by Michael Jackson’s video for “Earth Song.” However, I had to narrow it down and keep my budget in mind, so I chose a source of inspiration from a past experience – a concert I had attended, which was the Live Earth concert organized by Al Gore when he released his documentary, “The Inconvenient Truth.”
That concert was so inspiring, with such an important message raising awareness about climate change, that it has always stuck with me. Melissa Etheridge did a music video for her song that she created for the film, “I Need to Wake Up,” and so I gathered inspiration to create my own version of what they created back then. I decided to try to focus on one climate issue that I feel passionate about, which is our forests, and try to highlight how they are such an important ecosystem that we need for maintaining the health of our planet.
3. What was the process of making the video?
Creating the video was a long process. This video is the culmination of many ideas. It was challenging to create something with such an important message, as there are many different environmental issues warranting attention, so I needed to narrow it down to just one. I didn’t want to be the focus of this video; instead, I wanted the message of the song to be in the spotlight. So I worked with my video team at Sunbeam Productions LLC, and we brainstormed many ideas.
I had a strong vision about gathering many different environmental images and text with different facts to create a story in the form of a mini-documentary, but I still wanted to have shots of me singing interwoven within those images. I researched the text that appears in the video from many different sources, like the Arbor Day Foundation and the Audubon Society, etc. I then put together the text story within the visual story of the images I gathered.
I came up with the idea of projecting all these images onto a large backdrop. We then scouted a location with a cyclorama wall and shot the singing scenes there, and it all worked out perfectly. I have Julia Schnarr and her team at Sunbeam Productions LLC to thank for putting all the pieces of my vision together into this video.
MASSEY’s new single “Tattoo My Heart” is a visceral, no-holds-barred rock ‘n’ roll blast.
It’s gritty and unapologetically electric, taking you into a world where hard-driving guitars meet a mysterious and cinematic narrative.
Listen in here:
The song opens with an urgent riff, and it only intensifies from there. Peter Oravetz and Daniel Groover’s twin guitars cut through the mix, with their dueling solos creating a sense of tension and release that mirrors the track’s voodoo-inspired storyline. Charlie Wooton’s basslines pulse with a deep and powerful groove, while Doug Belote’s drums sound almost like the driven heartbeat throughout.
Each beat and riff sounds like it’s pushing the track forward as it develops into a feverish, all-consuming love story that the song paints. It’s about a relationship all wrapped up in mystery and obsession, where only one touch is enough to be forever marked.
But it’s MASSEY’s vocals that genuinely sell this track; his voice is commanding, direct, and full of emotion, and he has conviction behind each word. It’s the perfect vehicle for the story of a man caught under the spell of a mysterious voodoo priestess.
“Tattoo My Heart” was recorded at the now legendary Dockside Studio in Maurice, Louisiana, and the setting proves to be the perfect backdrop for the song’s swampy and electrified energy.
The production is not too overdone, but it manages to capture the band’s live energy. There is that unmistakable New Orleans vibe, which also has a layer of mystique to the already cinematic feel.
The voodoo theme is reflected in the lyrics. “Tattoo My Heart” explores a love so intense and consuming that it leaves a mark on the soul. It draws the listener into a tale of passion and magic, of danger and allure. It’s the kind of story that is both intoxicating as well as unnerving. It’s almost like falling in love with something you know you have no control over.
Accompanying the single release is a striking music video where the story comes alive with a visual twist.
The video features young women seducing men, with tattoos on their skin glowing with an electric charge that pulses like lightning. This visual effect emphasizes the track’s themes of enchantment, obsession, and the irreversible impact of love. The glow of these tattoos becomes as mesmerizing as the song itself.
In MASSEY’s own words, this track is “Rock ‘n’ Roll alchemy – a spell designed to captivate and spark something deep within.”
And it’s easy to see why. It’s a potent blend of passion, musicianship, and authentic energy. An explosion of sound and emotion fills the space with an electrifying presence.
“Tattoo My Heart” is now available on all major streaming platforms:
Animals in Denial has never been one to follow convention, and “Operator” is proof of that – a track that pulses with industrial grit, synth-heavy nostalgia and raw emotions.
Now with its newly released music video, “Operator” is something of a cinematic descent into a digital dystopia, where reality warps and emotions twist under the glow of neon lights.
Watch here:
This video is truly gripping with its unsettling and almost nightmarish atmosphere. Christian Imes delivers a haunting performance, as he struggles against unseen forces and finds himself bound and trapped not just physically, but emotionally too.
His desperate attempts to break free mirror the song’s themes of attachment, then detachment, and the realization that love can be just another illusion. Flickering images of his torment intensify which create a sense of claustrophobia that reflects the song’s core.
But it’s not just the human struggle that makes Operator such a striking watch.
The presence of a cobra snake, and flickering frames adds a hypnotic sense of danger. The reptile becomes a symbol of both seduction and control, reinforcing the feeling that this world is a trap. The snake’s eerie presence also suggests that temptation, fear and fate are intertwined in this world of distorted love and shattered connections.
The song itself is born from a beat that haunted Imes since the age of 14 after watching The Matrix. Originally pieced together using a lite version of Ableton Live and a handful of drum samples, Operator took on a new life when Steven Seibold (Hate Dept/Pigface) stepped in for additional production and mixing.
His expertise has helped to sharpen the track’s cold, metallic edges while subtle tweaks like a reworked third verse and unexpected backing vocals in the chorus have pushed the song into new territory. These enhancements have also worked to give it a chilling and almost prophetic resonance.
The final result is a high voltage, emotionally charged cyperpunk anthem that carried the sinister energy of Nine Inch Nails with the pulse of The Prodigy and that brooding intensity of Marilyn Manson.
The video only amplifies this energy, immersing viewers in a visually striking world that feels like a cross between a fever dream and a digital prison. The erratic camera work, rapid cuts, and neon-drenched visuals creating a sense ofdisorientation, as if the viewer is trapped in the same transmission loop as the protagonist.
With stunning visuals and a chilling atmosphere, “Operator” is truly a story of loss, longing and that crushing realization that some connections exist only as echoes in the void.
Andrew Stonehome isn’t just making music. He is creating experiences that resonate with the listener on a deeper level. His latest single “Then You Fly” is an introspective conversation with his inner child, capturing the emotional complexities of growth and the power in vulnerability.
As an artist who writes, performs, and produces his own music, Andrew’s dedication to authenticity is evident.
With “Then You Fly”, he takes that honesty a step further, translating the song’s deeply personal message into a striking visual.
In this interview, Andrew opens up about the inspiration behind the track, the challenges of balancing emotion with melody and the creative process behind his latest music video.
1. Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically in this way?
This song is a conversation with my inner child, whom I’ve tried to protect for so much of my life. Recently, I’ve had to confront some of my deepest fears around vulnerability, and this song feels like a snapshot of my thoughts on that.
When I wrote the lyrics, I dug deep and allowed myself to get emotional, which isn’t usually my approach. Each sentiment in the song feels incredibly personal to me. This is the song I feel most connected to – more than anything else I’ve written. If someone were to ask me for an example of my music, this would be the song I’d share.
Because this song is so personal and important to me, I wanted to create a video for it that I could be as proud of as I am of the song itself.
2. What was the inspiration behind this new video (visuals, storyline, etc.)?
I enjoy creating videos and the creative challenges that come with it. I wanted to visually show that I play all of the instruments in my music. My vision was to create the look of an entire band, where I’m every member, performing live on stage. Initially, I had hoped to make it look like there was a large gospel choir, with me as every member, alongside the band. However, due to time and technical limitations, I had to settle for three background singers.
I watched some other videos to see how they approached things, and one that was particularly helpful was Brandi Carlile’s video for “The Story.”
It was useful to notice little details, like how she looked directly at the camera for some shots.
3. What was the process of making the video?
I came up with the concept for the video and asked my friend Vince Radostitz, a talented photographer and videographer, if he’d be willing to film it for me. To test the concept, I filmed a rough version at home and then shared the demo with Vince so he could get a sense of what I was envisioning. We met to brainstorm further, and I visited a few locations to decide where to film. I also created a document with a plan and agenda for the filming day, including a detailed shot list, specifying which outfits I’d wear for each part and how long each segment should take.
We filmed at the Patricia Reser Center for the Performing Arts, which is close to my house.
We started loading in at 10 a.m., and it took a few hours for the crew to set up the lighting, so we didn’t actually start filming until almost 2 p.m. We finished around 6 p.m., and I was relieved that we managed to capture most of what I’d hoped for. It took me a couple of weeks to edit everything, which was fun because Vince did such a great job of getting fantastic footage. I was really happy with how it turned out.
I also created a “Making of” video that offers a behind-the-scenes look at how the video was made, and I’m just as proud of it as I am of the final video itself:
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