video: "Rusty Nail" - DERIDER
Today we’re introducing you to the sounds of DERIDER, a Pittsburgh-based post-rock, shoegaze, noise rock outfit who just released their first video for single “Rusty Nail.”Instead of sharing our gushing praise for the single we invited the band to introduce their music and explain a little more about the single and video:
“Playing music can be an incredibly empowering outlet and joy. Playing music as four dear companions, kindred who love one another so deeply, is a gift we didn’t know we would find. We came together as friends fooling around with instruments, and have grown as DERIDER for the past 7 months. We’re trying to see how hard we can work, who we can meet, and what we can provoke from a mere spark.
Our writing process within DERIDER is truly collaborative and organic. When we play together, parts and songs seem to build out of nothing, but I think that what we create is a testament to the effort we put into our relationships with one another, the ones with ourselves, and all of the people who inspire us. We take these sounds and craft them into songs. Sometimes we leave them in pieces on the floor and in the walls of the storage space we rent to practice in. Sometimes we are able to formulate a complete tune. These are our odes, our hymns, our rants and our collective call for connection. "Rusty Nail" came together in just that way.
I remember that it was Cormac who started this one off. His soft, pulsing guitar invited Tim to join in with an understanding, conversational layer of etherial guitar. As usual, Fallon comes in at just the right time with a drumbeat that is strong, yet dynamic. She holds us all together. A vocal melody and some lyrics came to me as I was reminded of times when I felt like people tested my spirit, merely for the sake of trying to watch me reach a breaking point and crumble. Some people seem to look for validation by dragging others down, when they could be building themselves into the wonders that we can become. The rest of the song goes through that process and the struggle to keep yourself on that viable climb towards a more positive plane. I think it’s quite a triumphant song that explodes into an embracing wall of sound as the bass joins in for the last movement. We can turn our loneliness, pain and regret into resilience and prosperity. People should not be made to be scaled upon with the insecurities and spite of others. I will not be entombed in malice. I take shit from no one. That takes some time, support, and TONS of self-love to achieve. We want to encourage others to do the same. After recording “Rusty Nail” with an amazing engineer and friend, Madeleine Campbell, we quickly decided to release the recording with a music video!
We repurposed a technology and aesthetic typically used for industrial applications, both to echo Pittsburgh’s past and reclaim the liminal spaces where art is able to happen. Tim happens to work with 3D scanners and figured out a way to take the field scans we collected and create fly-through shots with video editing software. With some extra magic from our friends Ambrosia (live silhouette shot) and Ringo (our final editing guru), we were able to tell a story of the fragmented self. The locations we chose to scan are places we gather in with our friends to watch the moon, enjoy sun-soaked conversations, take silent walks, go to secret (eventually not-so-secret) outdoor shows, and gaze at the veins of our city. The figures you see are us (DERIDER) and some of our closest friends, who allowed us to view what shapes their bodies take when they express feelings of being trapped within themselves. We wanted to show the crossroads, walls and particles that the human heart and mind navigate through to find balance and solid ground. Above all, we want viewers and listeners to feel something. Anything.
We are explorers, and love to ask questions. We try to live within them when we don’t find an immediate answer. We are thankful and humbled by our community.”
Photo Cred: Ambrosia Lynn