Playlist: Alicia MacDonald

What’s the best music video you’ve seen recently and why?

I love the gorgeous simplicity of that one beautiful black and white slow-mo shot in Fred Again.. and Jamie T - Lights Burn Dimmer. In a sea of modern quick-cut attention-grabbing videos, the restrained energy of it is so mesmerising. It’s part of a series of three films called Brandons Night which are all so clever, playful and beautifully cinematic.

But I’m also a huge fan of some super slick and coordinated choreography, like Jungle - Back On 74. There’s been some fascinating research on why your brain finds watching synchronised movements so compelling - it triggers this unique neurobiological experience where you don’t just visually process it, your brain empathetically feels like you are actually executing the movements. It’s why you might feel an adrenaline rush or a kinda breathlessness as you watch - I love that!

It’s perhaps rarer these days to do a full-on dance number but if done right, they can be so brilliant and memorable, like GENER8ION - Storm.

What’s the first music video you remember being impressed by?

Alanis Morissette - Ironic, I remember being about 13, knowing nothing about filmmaking and being sorta flummoxed and fascinated by how she was being four different versions of herself in the same car. 

Her album Jagged Little Pill was also one of the first cassettes I bought (okay fine, my mum bought it for me).

And what’s your all-time favourite music video?

I’ve always been sort of obsessed with The Verve - Bitter Sweet Symphony, I love the song (it claws so achingly at my existential dread) and Richard Ashcroft’s swagger and determined eyes and the little pause he does on the edge of the kerb before the melody really kicks in... poetry. 

The whole thing is so satisfying and the right level of absurdist and it’s so gloriously 90s. I was thrilled as I got to create a kinda tribute to it in the music video we made at the end of Finding Emily.

What other directors/artists do you look to for inspiration?

Danny Boyle. He’s always re-inventing and trying out different genres, styles and techniques.

And it feels basic to say Michel Gondry but he’s such a rare and unique visionary whose work is always so compelling, it feels like proper art.

What are you listening to at the moment?

I feel like my Spotify algorithm is slowly moving away from all things ‘Manchester’ which makes me kinda sad actually. Finding Emily is set in Manchester and during the almost four years that I spent making it, I was listening to loads of Manchester based artists, both new and old. I felt it was really important to nod to the legacy of iconic bands like Joy Division but I also really wanted to showcase some of the newer artists, across different genres, and really anchor the film in today. 

The playlist I ended up making to inspire the tone of the film is about 15 hours long and I still add to it occasionally. But now the film is finished, I feel like I need to sonically venture out of Manchester. Although I haven’t gone that far as I’m currently listening to Big Special who are from the Black Country. 

I’m obsessed with Joe Hicklin’s voice - he sounds like this Deep South gothic rapper preacher man and I genuinely think his voice could raise the dead. I saw them at Roundhouse recently and This Here Aint Water left me sobbing.

What’s your favourite bit of tech, whether for professional or personal use?

Shazam.

What artist(s) would you most like to work with and why?

I’d love to work with Wolf Alice. I like the way they mash their melodies with unexpected lyrics and explore human relationships with such genuineness and nuance - it’s ripe for super cinematic and exciting music videos.

I’ve been a huge fan of theirs since Brixton Academy 2018 where I watched a young Ellie Rowsell playing this huge guitar and screaming into a mic and thought she was the coolest thing ever. She’s a proper rockstar - so compelling and incredibly talented. The Last Man on Earth tears at my soul every goddamn time.