Before we dive into the latest video from Pharis and Jason Romero, whose new album Bet on Love is officially out today (however, the UK launch is June 1st) there is a story behind this latest unveiling which was shared with us by Devon Ledger at Hearth Music.
Pharis and Jason Romero started a video contest back in March. They asked fans to send in homemade music videos for an unreleased track on their upcoming record – a rhythmic, gourd banjo-driven song about taking time and letting the world go by titled “Roll On My Friend”. The winning video maker would receive one of their coveted Romero gourd banjos (as mentioned in our recent review here by David Morrison -Jason has a boutique banjo-making workshop and the J. Romero Banjo Company, has handcrafted instruments for such as Ricky Skaggs, Martin Simpson and Jerry Douglas.
In some cosmic collision, the timing of the contest became a unique and powerful window into experiences of creativity during social isolation, distancing and coping. 60 entries came in from around the world, from Argentina to BC, Denmark to India. The videos showed people sparked by the inspiration they needed to get out and be creative during lockdown, welcoming the distraction, finding a source of joy and fun, and connecting in a therapeutic experience. As one entrant said, “the prize is great, but I think most people will remember the ride”.
People scraped together old film, animated, projected, and staged scenes; they used phones and high-end cameras, and some made their first-ever video for this contest. And they all put a remarkable amount of time and themselves into their entries. One entrant worked on his crankie booth video every day for two months, another animated a video-game alien travelling through vintage photos and videos. A 12-year-old used the project for homeschool and spent several weeks training her horse and creating a goldrush-era gambling story on a ranch in BC. Friends got together and made their entry while remaining in physical isolation; a husband and wife, isolating separately for health reasons, created their wood-cut and paper animation video together in a joyful but isolated sharing. A JUNO Award-winning musician, a retired professor, a journalist, a yoga teacher studying in India, a family isolating on the North Sea of Denmark… families, friends and individuals took their creative spirits and ran with the idea.
“We were blown away,” says Pharis. “Choosing a winning video was nearly impossible. But in the end, we were drawn again and again to a journey of a family canoeing up to northern Canada in the 1960’s, following their adventure in a way that was engaging, beautiful, and perfectly reminiscent of the spirit of the song”. Watch the winning video below.
“When I first sat down to create something for you I speculatively dug out the footage my Father-in-law had shot 56 years ago,” Mark Reuten tells Pharis and Jason. “I clicked play on the first reel and simultaneously started playing Roll On My Friend. I instantly got chills down my spine. They were made for each other. Even the first couple of cuts matched the song perfectly. Without your song, that footage would have probably stayed in the dark for another fifty years. I’m so glad it has found a worthy cause to be brought into the light.”
Watch all the other entries here: www.pharisandjason.com/videocontest.
http://www.pharisandjason.com/releases/bet-on-love