Tomorrow sees the release of ‘Keep On Running’, the new Steve Dawson-produced debut album from Joe Edwards which we reviewed here and from which we have the pleasure of sharing a video for The Gambler.
Featuring Joe Edwards playing the central character, the whole video is done so well. It would have been so easy to overplay and exaggerate events for melodramatic effect, but instead, they are subtly played – pretty genius. It’s very moving as well, maybe because it also unfolds in the kitchen…a place I’ve always considered to be the heart of the home. As we watch the up and downs of life play-out, you begin to really feel the burden mounting on the shoulders of central character slumped on the table. It’s a stark reminder that the resilience to cope with life’s tribulations isn’t something you’re born with, and a lot of people just don’t get that support or find themselves so lost that they can’t ask for it. It’s a timely video being Mental Health Awareness Week.
Joe Edwards on ‘The Gambler’
The song itself was a fictitious story, written much in the same observational way that a lot of the North Americana murder ballads are, just not quite so grim! It was recorded completely live, all of us in the same room with no headphones on. It was so quiet that you could hear trucks rolling past even though the studio was set about 200 metres or so from the road. When it came to making the video, we’d just gone into lockdown. Beth and I were staying at the house we filmed in, subsequently moving out to ma and pa’s whilst we’re under siege (thanks mum and dad!). But, utilizing an idea I had, we managed to revolve the whole video around the kitchen area. As with many of those confronting addiction of any kind, it usually culminates from a series of afflicting life events and we hope it will shed a little understanding towards those, that we know little about.
Keep On Running os released on 22 May via Tiny Mountain Records.
Order via – https://joeedwards.bandcamp.com/album/keep-on-running
https://www.facebook.com/pg/joeedwardsmusic
Photo Credit: Colin Hawkins