Doug Spencer
Audio By Carbonatix
Nathaniel Rateliff, whose tour in support of his solo album And It’s Still Alright was postponed, may be holed up in his new mountain home and studio, but he and his crew are still releasing new projects in support of the album.
Today they dropped the music video for “All or Nothing,” a melancholy yet jaunty breakup song accompanied by a video produced by Denver creative Doug Spencer.
“When I first heard ‘All or Nothing,’ I was seeing images of the circus going from town to town with Nathaniel as the ringleader,” explains Spencer. “From there we built a dreamlike world populated by performers, moving landscapes and a little magic using my smoke techniques, projections and animations. A world within a song and a nice escape for the moment.”
The imagery gives a nod to the animation of Lotte Reiniger, rich with mystery from silhouettes, though Spencer uses much more smoke and haunting models of empty small towns.
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“I’ve always loved Doug’s art and how he plays with shadow and light,” Rateliff says. “I had gotten one of his pieces and was looking at it at home, and called him to ask if he would want to try using his art to make a video. I love what he came up with, and I loved being a part of the process.”
Rateliff’s tour could take off in late summer or early fall. In the meantime, he’s still making music.
Listen to “All or Nothing” and more favorites from Westword writers on our Westword Staff Picks playlist.
