Choosing a band and track

Choosing the track for our project is extremely important. Considering absolutely everything about our task will be based the song, this was to be the most important decision of the project. The song and band must be one which we can all brainstorm ideas for, and a band which have a style which is realistically achievable. As a group, we also needed to have enthusiasm for our track and band. By listing various favourite songs of ours, we narrowed down the genres of tracks and bands that we would all be happy to use. Due to the various music tastes of the group, it was a relatively difficult process to whittle through the many genres of music we collectively enjoyed.

We decided that the best genre would be the upbeat style of ska. As an avid gig-goer myself, I had a large collective of names of local ska/reggae bands from East London whom play local gigs frequently. Through playing various bands and tracks to the group, we decided on the band‘ The Skints’. This was for various reasons – The Skints were original in terms of their lyrics and recognisable sound, the band members themselves (who I have been in contact with multiple times) are extremely friendly and could be willing, if necessary, to help us with the project, I have strong links with the producer of their first music video “Mindless”, and the style of the band was feasible in terms of the filming locations and style.

The track above is the chosen track for our project, "Up Against The Wall". As well as this being a very catchy song, this is The Skint's new single. The lyrics are very down to earth, about a regular guy going to an East London club. Considering all of the group live on the edge of London, finding a setting for the video should be an easy task.

As The Skints are a local band, we have an idea of using a live performance of the band for the video, intertwined with a narrative. The band are playing on December 11^th at Camden Underworld in Camden. The venue is generally quite lenient on what happens at the venue, and it should be no trouble to use this performance as part of our video. My last post showed the messages I have sent out to various contacts to make sure that this will be allowed.

The band's official website