The video for Phoenix's '1901' single, directed by Dylan Byrne and Ben Strebel (HSI London) and produced by Dazed Digital, has been nominated for a prestigious Rushes Soho Shorts Award. The song - taken from the French group's fourth studio album, ‘Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix’ - captures the band’s performance illuminated by a custom designed projection-based light show. It has now gained more than two million hits on Youtube and was at constant rotation on MTV 2 when it was released in May 2009. Soon, Dazed's '1901' version was mentioned on influential blogs such as The Fader, Pitchfork, Stereogum and Kanye West’s blog. Dylan Byrne explains the idea behind the film: “The concept was quite simple; to use minimalist graphics to deconstruct the song, break it down to its most basic form and present the band in a strong visual light.” Since then, Dylan and Ben have been nominated for best new directors at the MTV VMA’s. The video will be shown on the big screen at the Official Screenings at the ICA on 23rd and 25th of July.

Credits

Directors Dylan Byrne and Ben Strebel
Producer Kin Woo for Dazed Digital
DOP Dylan & Ben
Editor Prano Bailey-Bond
Post-production Bogstandard
Camera assistants Borja Martin & Carlos Galdo