Autumn Andel
Photographer

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Deviance via Puppets in Unknown Mortal Orchestra's (NSFW-ish) Video for "Swim And Sleep (Like A Shark)" and SXSW Dates

The first time I ever saw Unknown Mortal Orchestra, they played in near total darkness, save for a tiny red light attached to Ruban Nielson's mic stand. While it was damn frustrating as a photographer, I’ve now come to respect Nielson’s ideology. For the Portland resident, the image is not an integral part of UMO’s music. Naturally, for a band with an offbeat music and notions, puppets would be employed to illustrate the societal deviance and its alienating effects for “Swim and Sleep (Like A Shark)” from their latest LP, II. Objects associated with childish innocence to communicate mature themes - in one sense, we are all puppets in some way or another.

The video looks like it may have been produced in Nielson’s native country of New Zealand, hinted by “NZ On Air” (a government broadcast funding agency) logo towards the end.