We are very honoured to bring to you the premiere of the video for Irish multi-instrumentalist A.S. Fanning‘s beautiful track ‘Mushroom Cloud’: a warm and intimate portrayal of a relationship amongst the majestic thunder of the track.
‘Mushroom Cloud’ is a theatrical tour de force – an expansive, immersive track that is poised and dramatic with a baroque pop grand stature. Fanning’s vocals bring to mind bands like Editors The National and Tindersticks with a touch of Nick Cave and John Foxx: deep, resonating and profound with a red velvet gothic blush. The instrumentation is as bold and sweeping as the night sky: wailing, weeping strings underpin the vocals that are delivered with an ethereal force, as pianos and drums gradually swell up through the mix. There is ultimately a sixties-infused, Burt Bacharach sweep that is enthralling.
The breathtaking expensive beauty of the track is perfectly matched and contrasted with the intimacy of the video directed by Grant and Adam Conversano. Following a young couple immersed within each other, it is a deeply close and personal expression of love and devotion that antithetical to the universal themes of isolation and anxiety expressed in the song. Fanning says of ‘Mushroom Cloud’:
I wrote Mushroom Cloud at the beginning of the pandemic, when society had shut down and we had no real knowledge of when, or if, it would start again. As with most people at the time, I became quite isolated and my world grew very small.
The video portrays two individuals who create an entire universe between themselves: an antidote to the vicissitudes of life and the discombobulation of the COVID era. The directors say of the clip:
We decided to shoot in super slow motion to create a meditation on the horror and beauty of young love. These characters are Immature and co-dependent but in a world that feels like it’s ending all the time, all they have is each other, for better or for worse.
It’s a moving, enthralling video, a perfect visual for the song:
The single ‘Mushroom Cloud’ is available through all the usual download and streaming sites. The video comes with the announcement of A.S. Fanning’s new album ‘Mushroom Cloud’ due out 26 May through K&F Records/Proper Octopus Records. You can pre-order through the link below:
You can catch Fanning (based in Berlin) live on the following dates:
26 May – Berlin (DE) – Kantine am Berghain
Tickets: here
28 May – Beverungen (DE) – Orange Blossom Special Festival
Tickets: here
30 May – Köln (DE) – Die Wohngemeinschaft
Tickets: here
31 May – München (DE) – Feierwerk (Sunny Red)
Tickets: here
2 June – Hamburg (DE) – headCRASH Hamburg
Tickets: here
3 June – Rostock (DE) – Circus Fantasia
14 June – London (UK) – Servant Jazz Quarters
Fanning is a singer-songwriter from Dublin currently residing in Berlin. He began this solo project in 2013 after the breakup of his former band, The Last Tycoons. Fanning released his sophomore album You Should Go Mad in 2020. He also performed at Austin’s prestigious SXSW festival in 2017.
Feature Photograph: Neil Hoare
