After receiving widespread acclaim for his new album I Own You, Mick Flannery has released an artistically ambitious new video directed by Jon Hozier-Byrne. The video was partially filmed on a crowded Saturday night Dame Street, with Mick enclosed in a glass box among a gathering crowd. The video documents the real-life reactions to the spectacle, with people staring as they walked past and even stopping to take selfies in front of the box. As Jon says, “I wanted to try and visually communicate this feeling presented within the song, of being isolated, yet being consumed only by virtue of placing yourself to be consumed (which I suppose ties back into the idea of social media obsession). I suppose some artists create art as a way of communicating with people without having to actually communicate with people.”
The video was also shot on the uniquely beautiful terrain of Burren National Park, with the sun rising on Mick still enclosed in the glass case. "We got some really gorgeous footage down there," Jon says. "I've wanted to shoot a video down the Burren for some time, and the themes of isolation presented within the lyrics provided the perfect opportunity. There is something so alien about the landscape, so far removed from the intense hyper-reality of social media and modern life. To be able to contrast this beautiful remoteness against the immediate response of the vast majority of the public - to pull out the phone and document their discovery and themselves - was a natural fit."
"How High" is available now. Watch the video below. Mick Flannery is currently out on his Irish tour. Check the upcoming dates here.
April 5: DeBarras, 55, Pearse St, Clonakilty, Co Cork
April 6: Glór Ennis, Ireland
April 7: The Maritime Hotel, The Quay, Bantry, Ireland
April 13: An Grianán Theatre, Letterkenny, Ireland
April 15: Pavilion Theatre, Dún Laoghaire, Dublin, Ireland
April 22: Town Hall Theatre Westport, Octagon, Westport, Ireland