Aswekeepsearching up the Music Video Game with ‘In Circles’
The post-rock band’s frontman Uddipan Sarmah tells us about the process of filming the breathtaking clip in Shillong
Aswekeepsearching drummer Gautam Deb's storyline features crisp shots of him canoeing over a serene lake.
With shots of rolling hills, serene lakes and winding roads, Aswekeepsearching’s video for “In Circles” sees them perpetuate their dedication to stunning visuals. Drenched in cool gradients, the video showcases scenic landscapes of Shillong and complements the 2015 track’s melancholic post-rock sound.
Frontman Uddipan Sarmah reveals that the video’s entire conceptualization was done over one evening just days before filming. The information comes as bit of a surprise considering how detailed and well-composed each shot is. “We are a DIY band, so budget toh kuch tha nahi (we didn’t really have a budget,)” Sarmah says. “We remembered we were going to Guwahati for a gig so it made sense for us to go to Shillong from there.” The band recruited Mumbai-based director and longtime collaborator Shachi Malhotra for the project. She had a huge task ahead because while the band wanted to showcase Shillong’s beauty, they weren’t sure what the basic storyline would be.
In the end, “In Circles” ended up showing each of the members embracing nature in their own ways; guitarist Shubham Gurung is a photographer searching for inspiration in the forests while bassist Bob Alex cruises through winding, tree-lined roads in a vintage car. Drummer Gautam Deb’s storyline features crisp shots of him canoeing over Shonpedeng lake in Dawki before taking a brave plunge into it from a cliff. Sarmah’s clips take on a more philosophical note as he strolls slowly through the forest, seemingly lost in thought, before befriending a dog who then begins to follow him. It then ends with Aswekeepsearching performing on the banks of the same lake Deb jumped into. The underlying angst in each member’s journey makes quite an impact in the viewer’s mind.
Logistically, there were a ton of challenges the band faced. “We would travel two and half hours or three hours to the place in the correct time to shoot the video,” recalls Sarmah. He adds some of the toughest tasks were renting film equipment from Mumbai to make the video and continuous 5 A.M. wake-up calls in the cold darkness of Shillong to begin shooting. Deb also had the additional challenge of overcoming his fear and making the jump into the water for the video’s climactic scene. The results however, are well worth it.
Watch the video for “In Circles” below:
