By Claire Kurylowski. From their free “Light Games EP”.

+++ Xiu Xiu – “Hi” +++

Directed by David Horvitz & Jamie Stewart. From their new album “Always”.

+++ Bethia Beadman – “Glow Baby Glow” +++

Produced and directed by nowMomentnow. From Bethia Beadman’s album “Made of Love”.

+++ Lauren Devine – “Just A Little Ready” +++

Directed by Casey Jane Ellison. Song written by Cody Critcheloe (SSION) and Laurel Halo.

+++ Kazaky – “Dance And Change” +++

www.kazaky.com

+++ Berlin based Kool Thing (picture on top by Emma Haugh) has just released a beautiful free 3-track EP entitled “Light Games”. You can stream and download it here (new video to “Light Games” soon):

+++ The Magnetic Fields will release their new album “Bottom of the Sea” on March 6 via Merge Records. Here’s the stream of the album track and cute queer hymn “Andrew in Drag”:

+++ Check out new videos by Austra (“Spellwork“) and Trust (“Bulbform“), a side project of Austra drummer Maya Postepski +++

+++  Travis Egedy aka Pictureplane has just released a free remix album of his debut ”Thee Physical” from last year. The album entitled “Dimensional Rip 7″ can be streamed and downloaded via DIS magazine. Here’s the video to the Extreme Animals remix of “Body Mods”. It may sound familiar to you.

I’m happy to annouce that Aerea Negrot’s “It’s Lover, Love” is the winner of our third Catch Fire Music Video Award. Congratulations, and thanks to everyone who voted! The simple but beautiful clip was shot by Pablo Zuleta Zahr, a Chilean artist based in Berlin, who I’ve just interviewed in order to get some background information on the production and himself as an artist. Here’s what he wrote me.

UPDATE: Aerea has also send us a little statement to the song and the video as well as a picture of the shooting. You find both below.

Tell me a little bit about your background, you live in Berlin now, what do you do here and where are you from?

I was born and raised in Chile, and moved to Germany 1999 when I was 20. studied Art/Photography in Dusseldorf, and since 2001 I started coming to Berlin, until I finally moved here a bit later. Since then I had several exhibitions, mostly using video and photo as a medium.

How did you get in touch with Aerea?

Katrin, her manager, is a friend of mine. Katrin had told me they had a vague idea for a possible video, that somehow was related to a project I wanted to do in an old people’s home. Katrin though we could join forces for the shooting. We arranged a Skype conference and they send me the song and after listening to the track I got inspired and then brought up another idea. The initial idea I had for the track, was also one idea I though could work as an art collaboration in which maybe we could split material, I could use some scenes for the art context and others for the videoclip. But, as usual, that idea turned out to be too expensive. Instead of stressing ourselves, we gave ourselves 2 days of experimenting before going back to something that would cost money.

What would you say was the basic idea for the video?

Since the original idea was too expensive, the next plan was to meet, dress up, talk, drink coffee and try things out. We had shared some personal stories before the first day of experimenting, and there was this idea we wanted to try out in a graveyard. That curiosity lead us to the final idea of using the water surface of a basin In the graveyard. Somehow the energy of the place is still there although u cant really see any tomb or anything. My was to do a one shot/ no cut video that would show Danielle performing in front of the water that would reflect her movements with the sky in the background.

I was supposed to choreograf the movements in the surface of the water and work with lights. I knew I needed Aerea to perform a couple of times until we had one perfect sequence. I rented some light flashes and called some young friends to see if they had some time to help  – they are this really nice and creative kids all between 14 and 17teen. Each of them had a flash with a certain color and they also helped me creating waves and the fake rain. It was a very magical shooting atmosphere.

How does the film relate to the song?

The only literal relation to the song is when Aerea sings microwaves… The song is a love/break up song. A good-bye song. I decided to do something really simple, and use only a few metaphorical elements to express it.
Sunset is a common place for romantic love, rain is a common way to symbolize tears, I used both of them, pushed them and let them get out of control in an explosion of color in the distorted surface to symbolize the metamorphosis related to that emotional transit. Then there is smoke…a smoke curtain before disappearing… and then the 2 birds are crossing the sky, like some sort of sign of the future that points in  another direction.

What is your latest project?

I’m devoting a whole year to do collaborations. It’s a big project in which I work with different artist/friends doing performative portraits. They are manifesting in different ways though. There is a new video piece for an installation that is almost done. One is becoming an experimental film that I’m sort of directing over skype. There are 2 more projects with musician friends and I’m also trying to materialize an idea for an Art iPhone Application.

Here’s a picture of the shooting:

And here’s what Aerea wrote us:

“It´s lover, love”, besides being a love song, exlores the anticipation of love loss. I had a relationship that was slowly fading, therefore I was giving up, in the shape of music.
Years later, I found myself in a similar situation when a dear friend was going through health problems. In a way was also a preparation for a goodbye, which gladly didn´t happen!!! During that time, upon visiting Stockholm, I found myself at a party sort of recreating a funeral with inner sorrow… flowers in my hands.
This was a story I shared with Pablo when we were brainstorming for the video. But, instead of being dark and death oriented, Pablo´s idea was to record the video from water reflections… and those two birds in the end… I mean.
The most beautful story behind this all is that we had great help and interaction from these young friends of Pablo: Fabian, Uma, Clara, Magda, Miguel, Paul, Pablo, Lisa and I, thank you for voting!.

Track available via ITunes. If you like it you should also check out SAMN!’s “Synthetic Hearts” EP from 2010. More about the Brooklyn based artist on his page on the website of his label Royal Advisor.

+++ Planningtorock has recently released a new free song: “My Valuable Hunting Knife” is a cover of Guided By Voices and part of the free “DFA Shamash Hits 2011 Collection“, which you should really check out if you haven’t yet. You can stream and download the song right here:

+++ The fashion brand Hood By Air has just released a pretty crazy free hip hop mixtape called “Swagot Thrilltape”. You can download it from their website.

+++ For their new single “Shady Love” the Scissor Sisters have teamed up with Azealia Banks, a 20-year-old rapper and lyricist from NYC and producer Alex Ridha from Boyz Noise. The song is not really my thing, but if you’re curious what this strange combination sounds like you can watch the new video to the song on YouTube (if you wonder who is “Krystal Pepsy” – it’s Jake Shears’ DJ side project)

+++ I guess I’m a little late with this video for the song “Stay In Touch” by a Sydney based beary electro pop duo called Garçon Garçon, which was already released in October. Nathan Mahon and Nick Tsirimokos (the guy on top, picture by Elvis Di Fazio) will release a full EP on the 14th of February. You can listen to two demo songs of Garçon Garçon from early 2011 on BIGSTERO.

+++ Please don’t forget to vote for your favorite queer video of the year +++

+++ Rapper Cakes Da Killa‘s free “Easy Bake Oven”-E.P. (released in October) is the prefect proof that homo-hop is still alive and fresh, even though nobody uses the word anymore. Since the official download link isn’t working at the moment I re-uploaded the record here, you can also download the tracks and some new stuff on his Soundcloud page. Here’s my favourite song “Where Da Trade At”:

+++ Light Asylum’s Shannon Funchess has recorded a new track with Ford & Lopatin (formerly known as Games). It’s one of two songs of a new Ford & Lopatin single, the second track is “Flying Dream”, a collaboration with Tamaryn. You can order the limited vinyl via Mexican Summer.

+++ An Austin-based art/music collective called #FEELINGS has just released the free “More Than Friends”-EP by Austin-/Berlin-based producer Lōtic. I  have to quote from the press release to describe the music: “The EP skillfully re-purposes popular and underground dance/club/bass music styles to create “blunt house”, a new, mysterious genre that is generating the latest buzz in the blogosphere and on dance floors throughout the universe.” You can stream and download the right EP here, Beyoncé sample included:

+++ Just in case you haven’t seen in yet – here’s the new flashy Azari video. Definitely one of my favorite records in 2011.

We are excited to present our third voting for the most beautiful, most clever and/or most challenging queer and/or gender-bending music video posted on Catch Fire in 2011. You find our 12 contestants below the jump, don’t forget to take your time and check them out before you make your vote! The competition will run for three weeks. This year the winner will receive a hand-made price, which will be revealed as soon as the winner is found. Here we go:

Light Asylum – Dark Allies

Directed by Grant Worth

MEN – Who Am I To Feel So Free

Directed by Paola Morabito & Técha Noble

Miracles Club - Light Of Love (Cut Copy Re-Vision)

Directed by Judah Switzer

Aérea Negrot – It’s Lover, Love

Directed by Pablo Zuleta Zahr

Jessica 6 feat. Antony –  Prisoner Of Love

Directed by Marco Ovando

Jolly Goods – Try

Directed by the Jolly Goods

Alien Alien – Sambaca

Directed by Manuel Savoia

Gio Black Peter – Revolving Door (New Fuck New York)

Directed by Bruce LaBruce

Alexis Blair Penney – Lonely Sea

Directed by Justin Kelly

Azari & III – Manic

Directed by James Henry

Purple & Green – Sunshine

Directed by Judah Switzer

Katastrophe – Tunnel Vision

Directed by Olivia Parriott

-> Jump back to voting form