VIDEO: Gagarin – Public Service Broadcasting (dir. Alex Kemp | choreographer Kieran Donovan)
Next month sees the release of the second album from Public Service Broadcasting – The Race For Space – and we’re taking a brief exploration into the music video for ‘Gagarin’, the first single from this new record.
Just in case you don’t know about PSB, they’re an unsuspecting, corduroy-clad duo (Frontman J.Willgoose, Esq. & drummer, Wrigglesworth respectively) who sample public information films and archived material and fuse it with fresh new music written by the band. Sold? You should be. It’s even better when you see them live where they use the footage from the samples to support their live shows; we were lucky enough to have them perform at one of our Screen Social nights in 2012.
Saying that, this video is just a joy to watch. The song itself is a funk-tinged, head-nod-inducing track that just makes you smile – and then you see synchronised dancing astronauts! Now, who doesn’t want to see that?! The choreography is the right amount of cool and kitsch (in a similar vein to Ok, Go!), backdropped by some fantastic archive footage of the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin. Simply put, it’s a fun video that you’ll want to watch again and again.
Check out PSB in session with Marc Riley on BBC Radio 6 Music below. You can also see a great example of PSB’s live visuals from their BBC Formula 1 ‘End of Season Outro’ as well as some behind the scenes footage of ‘Gagarin’ which is well worth the watch.
The Race For Space is released on 16th February on digital, CD and Vinyl. You can pre-order your copy here, all pre-orders receive an immediate digital download of ‘Gagarin’. Be sure to check out more from Public Service Broadcasting on their website including upcoming UK & Ireland tour dates.