As previously mentioned on Folk Radio UK, Superwolves: Matt Sweeney and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy are back in action with a new album hopefully in the not too distant future. Their latest single came with “Make Worry For Me” for which they shared a live video here. The single now gets a second visit, this time directed by NYC duo Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe and filmed at A Cell in The Smile, Freeman and Lowe’s architectonic sculpture and part of their San San Universe (some of you may have seen their Colony Sound installation at London’s Marlborough Gallery last year). The inspiration for their San San Universe is said to come from the book The Year 2000 where, in 1967, the writers Herman Kahn and Anthony J. Wiener presented their vision of the future which was shaped by the threat of thermonuclear destruction and rapid technological advances. In the book, the authors imagine that the cities along the west coast of America from San Diego to San Francisco would merge to form a mega-city complex called San San.
A Cell in The Smile is a 5,000 square foot bunker that sits 27 feet underground in an undisclosed location outside of Cleveland, Ohio. It features a subterranean complex that houses a natural history museum, a lab for neuro-biological communication technology, a cold war think tank, a capsule hotel, a mosaic lounge dedicated to the practice of theoretical architecture, and a movie theatre.
“As long-time fans of Matt Sweeney and Bonnie “Prince” Billy, we invited the duo to perform in a nearby field in the summer of 2018. This is when we introduced them to our underground scene. From what we understand, they took a liking to the place and the next time we saw them was 18 months later when they played us ‘Make Worry for Me.’ Maybe they stayed underground for a while; maybe they made the bunker a temporary studio. It is hard to say for sure, but it was an epic song that embodied all the unreality and paranoia of A Cell in The Smile. We all agreed that we had to make a film for the song in the bunker and under less-than-ideal circumstances traveled back underground. It’s not clear how long production lasted; it seemed quick but when we reemerged the power was out in the nearby village and there were some other curious changes. We spent the first night above ground at a local inn in front of a fireplace waiting for electricity. The next day we split up, heading back to Kentucky, Texas and NYC respectively. This is a taste of what we captured of Superwolf at work in their habitat.”
Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe
Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy
“The 18 months we spent in Freeman and Lowe’s bunker felt like 18 years. It feels great to be out and to be able to share some of what we did during our internment. The first few drafts of the song and its accompanying visualization were full of anger and fear. Finally we got around to owning it, and like good Stockhausen Syndrome sufferers, we now love Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe and everything they do.”
Credit: Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe