Alexis Gideon, is an American musician, animator and filmmaker from Portland, Oregon. After his first two releases Welcome Song (2007 Sickroom Records) and Flight of the Liophant (2007 Sickroom Records), Alexis Gideon has switched gears with his creation of his animated/claymated video opera Video Musics inspired by traditional Hungarian Mythology and Folk Tales. Video Musics is both dazzling and baffling. So, did he make this DVD made for our children or for us? Both, probably. His stories of the origins of mythical half-lion, half-elephant creatures or of the time-travelling princess Zuska are likely to appeal to anyone when told in such a delightful and joyous way. His animations are a drunken mixture of the lo-fi, the hi-fi, near schizophrenic frivolity, childlike naivety, and the odd wink to Louis Bunuel or Jean Cocteau. Gideon soundtracks this mad visual concoction with his own equally bizarre take on hip-hop, tying his wobbling grooves and warbling synthesizers together with these fantastical narratives. Whilst Gideon may be well off the beaten track, eschewing both traditional children’s narrative style and the mores of contemporary hip-hop, his naïve charm and the depth of his imagination are enough to seduce any viewer. The soundtrack to Video Musics is available for free download at
www.africantape.com. |
