Conemelt - Splinter Group (video)

Excellent Super-8 video shot in Iceland of non-album track Splinter Group, which appeared on the bumper compilation Fresh Emissions.

In my pre-Xmas chatter with Ashley and Nat from Conemelt, Ashley dropped this bombshell:

"...just tried phoning a friend who shot footage of us and Andrew on tour in Iceland looking at sulphurous geysers and bubbling mud baths etc (how very Pink Floyd In Pompeii) and then set this footage to Splinter Group (his choice). It's really lovely. If he uploaded it would you be able to host that on your site..?"

Hmm, let me think about that one... He said he'd have a look for it then I got an email on the evening of Xmas eve with the link to it. Mental...

Anyway, I got in touch with the director, Camille, who gave an interesting insight into the production of said vid:

"...I shot it myself on Super-8, it sat around for ten years and I rediscovered it (under a pile of detritus, there's a pattern forming here d'you see?) and stuck it together. I shot a load of new footage and took out the shots of Conemelt, the finished item doesn't have them in at all, except a split second of Grant falling over that was too good to get rid of. I sent it to a load of short film festivals but nobody wanted it, I'm happy to turn it back into a music video again. Hopefully it will find a home on your blog.

We did have a hoot, the 'Melt was mighty then. I wish everyone could have seen it. That bloke from the Sugarcubes took us to a bar and showed us the internet, I'd never seen it before. A couple of years ago they uprooted the entire bar from Reykjavik and installed it in the Frieze arts fair in London, I drank a gin and tonic in there. One of the most surreal moments in my life..."

This is actually the second version of the video that I got, and it features a certain Mr Weatherall as well as the Conemelt trio and a couple of others. You should check the nick of them, especially Ashley in his Pigface t-shirt (insert your own "dodgy geysers" joke here). It actually reminds me of the video that appeared for Laughing Boy by Julian Cope on the Copeulation VHS back in the day.

I can't actually lay my hands on my Fresh Emissions albums (flat is currently a bombsite) but I've ripped the audio from the video for you to download. *EDIT* Camille, video director extrordinaire has supplied me with a high-quality mp3 version *EDIT* The Vimeo link also includes an mp4 download link for the video so that you can take it with on on the go if you're that way inclined.

Once again, many thanks to Conemelt and Camille for this wee gem. Much appreciated...



Conemelt - Splinter Group (download mp3)

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