With this week\u2019s release of the music video for Old English<\/i> by Young Thug<\/a><\/strong> (above)<\/em>, we focus on the video\u2019s director – RUFFMERCY<\/strong><\/a>. The Bristol based<\/strong> illustrator, animator, music video director and producer brings us a style that\u2019s unmistakable for some of the most forward-thinking artists around<\/strong>.<\/p>\n This current video is synonymous of the RUFFMERCY<\/strong><\/a> approach with fragmented, chalkboard like frames, psychedelic colour palette and tripped out caricatures<\/strong> of the artists featured in the song \u2013 the song talks about \u201ctaking M\u201d so if the shoe fits\u2026<\/p>\n But that\u2019s not exclusive to the Old English<\/i> video. The director consistently includes these elements in much of his work and the more you see his videos, the more you see the illustrator in him coming out to play. He has a clear influence from Jean-Michel Basquiat<\/strong>, from the form of his drawings to the way he uses writing over the frame; it\u2019s almost like you\u2019re seeing his mental annotations on screen, graphically emphasising the way he visualises songs. It suits the artists he\u2019s worked with too; wordsmiths such as Danny Brown<\/a>, Wiley <\/a><\/strong>and Lily Allen<\/strong><\/a> have all come to RUFFMERCY to create a visual accompaniment to their tracks, highlighting moods and key lyrics<\/strong> and it\u2019s evident to see why it works so well.<\/p>\n He\u2019s worked with other global names such as<\/strong> Disclosure providing the animation\u00a0for the hit\u00a0F for You <\/i>video<\/a>\u00a0<\/i><\/strong>(this video was actually directed by Kate Moross<\/a>) \u2013 the duo\u2019s instantly recognisable scratched-negative imagery being an obvious and coherent relation to RUFFMERCY<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s illustrative style. It\u2019s fair to say that he has a go-to style for a lot of his videos and could be deemed overly similar. That could be partly down to labels wanting a sure thing or it could be down to the fact that he has regular collaborators like Ewen Farr<\/strong><\/a> or Patch Keyes\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>who are\u00a0illustrators and animators in their own right.<\/p>\n There\u2019s more to RUFFMERCY<\/strong><\/a> though and it is videos like the ones for the two Pauls – Paul Weller<\/strong>\u2019s Green<\/i> and Paul White<\/strong>\u2019s Where You Gonna Go<\/i> – which are my personal favourites. Both use much of the elements talked about already but use them more subtly. What draws me to these videos more than the others is the is the kaleidoscopic nature<\/strong> of them, the geometric details<\/strong> and to an extent, the increased sense of psychedelia<\/strong>. The fully animated Dudley Perkins<\/strong> video for Lung Specialist<\/i> (created in collaboration with Keyes and Farr) takes the trip in alternative direction with a more fluid approach and provides something more akin to a weird and wonderful short film but in my eyes, equally successful.<\/p>\n The industry seems to not be able to get enough of RUFFMERCY<\/a><\/strong> and neither can we. The prospect of him working with more artists across more genres of music (GOAT anyone?) or even working outside the music video buffer is exciting and I\u2019m looking forward to see what\u2019s else is to come from this talented Bristolian.<\/p>\n![\"ruffmercy_logo\"](\"http:\/\/www.swhype.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/ruffmercy_logo.jpg\"){kind=logo}
<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3\/4″][vc_column_text]\n<\/a><\/p>\nCheck out RUFFMERCY\u2019s videos for Paul Weller, Paul White and Dudley Perkins below <\/i>and be sure to check out the much more of his work here <\/i><\/a>and here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/i>You can also buy the single for\u00a0Old English<\/em> on iTunes<\/a>.<\/em><\/h6>\n