The ÆTHER releases music video for ‘Empty Soul’ ahead of ‘ÆTHERVILLE’ album release

“ÆTHERVILLE” IS RELEASED THROUGH REVELATION OF THE METHOD RECORDS.

David Smith aka The ÆTHER, a 24-year-old working-class musician from the North is back with a cinematic music video for brand new track ‘Empty Soul’. Empty Soul is the final song to be lifted from the ÆTHERVILLE album.

Directed by the acclaimed Cameron Clark Carlton, this sci-fi horror parody was shot in Bristol and is a tongue in cheek homage to the classic ‘They Live’ by legendary film director John Carpenter.

“ÆTHERVILLE ” is The ÆTHER’s third studio album and is released through Revelation of the Method Records. It was written, recorded and produced by David at his own self-built home studio.

The video was shot by long term collaborator Cameron Clark Carlton at locations in Bristol and Bath including the Komedia and near Temple Meads train station. The video is a tongue in cheek homage to the classic sci-fi horror film ‘They Live’ which also inspired graffiti artist Shepard Fairy of ‘Obey’ fame,

David says ‘I had a lot of fun shooting Alone with Cam and we got discussing loads of classic movies we both love. After the first day of filming we actually sat and watched They Live again and just thought it had so much going for it. The concept of They Live just seemed hilarious and so apt for our times that we just thought lets go for it. I didn’t want to be seen criticising anyone so it’s me and my own ambitions that are the target of any joke. I am not having a go at anyone because it’s a metaphor for the situation we are all in, and its probably beyond our control. We have put this link to They Live in the description to the video so definitely check it out if you haven’t seen it’

Cameron Clark Carlton says ‘ When I heard Empty Soul it immediately brought to mind classic alien invasion movie ‘They Live’ as I basically think in movies! David never fully explains his lyrics because like David Lynch he believes the audience need to create their own meaning,  but the lyrics to me reminded me of the concept of consumerism and the invasion of market forces into virtually all areas of modern life, for example the selloff of the NHS and schools to the private sector and the explosion of Instagram influencers selling an unreal lifestyle and taking money for uploads etc.

David said to me that it really concerned him that this unreal photoshopped life on Instagram was part of the reason for the mental health crisis in society, with people being confronted with the perfect lives on a day to day basis setting up unrealistic expectations and issues of negative body images etc. I saw an interview with the director John Carpenter where he said the political elements of the ‘they Live’ were derived from his distaste with the ever-increasing commercialization of popular culture and politics in the 80s, and I thought that needed to be revisited in Tory Britain 2019. I loved the idea of the classic Rockstar sunglasses as being the tool to seeing the truth, which is seen in black and white, which is David’s preferred look for his Instagram. That was a cool coincidence and David let me take over his Instagram for an hour to put up some of the ‘Obey’ and ‘Consume’ iconography which you can see in the video. David and I both love what Muse did in the Knights of Cydonia video with futuristic electromagnetic weapons etc. and we both thought that there is a gap for horror science fiction in music videos! Look out in the video for the appearance of the conspiracy theorist wearing the Make America Great Again cap and the Q t-shirt popularized by Trump supporters. We thought that was hilarious especially as Massive Attack have been putting up Q on their screens at their recent gigs in the States.”

You can find links to The ÆTHER’s music here:

• Bandcamp:  https://theaetherreal.bandcamp.com
• Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/album/04mr0HKDsGpV4gRl9kN5yk
• Soundcloud:  https://soundcloud.com/theaetherreal
• Youtube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5bT2Z-toLU

You can find links to The ÆTHER socials below:

• Facebook: https://facebook.com/theaetherreal
• Twitter:   https://twitter.com/theaetherreal
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/theaether

ÆTHERVILLE, released through Revelation of the Method Records, will be available on limited edition 12″ heavyweight vinyl direct from: https://theaetherreal.bandcamp.com and available for streaming on Spotify , iTunes and all major platforms.