Music Video Premiere: Danny Denial’s “Scorpio Eyes”
By Marcus Shriver
Seattle multi-media artist, Danny Denial, also known for their work with the band Dark Smith, has put out one of the most unique and prolific albums of 2020 with Fuck Danny Denial, out now on the Seattle/New Orleans-based label, Cruisin’ Records. Including collaborations with DoNormaal, Eva Walker of The Black Tones, Razor Clam and other artists that are beating the heart of the Seattle music scene, this album is a compound reflection of a unique local culture that deserves to be the center of attention.
Dark and contemplative, Fuck Danny Denial uses grunge and emo as a tool to tell a story in a way that grunge artists of the 90s and emo artists of the 2000’s could not. Sitting in the fourth slot on the album is the beautifully produced, brooding anthem, “Scorpio Eyes.” The song samples a well-known Blink 182 intro (“Adam’s Song”) that carries the listener to another time, while creating a world of introverted dialogue. Danny supports this song with a surprisingly bright and vibrant video that emphasizes the intimate underbelly of the album.
The video for “Scorpio Eyes,” which is part six of seven in a visual series associated with the album and was directed by Rajah Makonnen, ominously brings us along Danny’s journey and the contrast of aesthetics that Danny emotes. Nada Mucho has had this album on repeat and we are eager to premiere this video to the public. We asked Danny what it was like to create this video and what the thought process was placing it as the fourth song on this album.
Here’s what Danny had to say….
“The making of the “Scorpio eyes” video was really intimate and stripped back. It was the first days of the pandemic shutdown in March, and I had already been working on a video with Rajah Makonnen for Razor Clam. I had completed all the visuals planned for the 6 of the 7 songs on my solo album, except this one. So it made the most sense, for safety and time efficiency, to shoot in my apartment with a one-man crew of only Rajah. We stripped my apartment of all sheets, all decor, everything so it was stark white and created a muted space of rehabilitation and stillness. Surprisingly, it really worked. Sometimes, with video, less is more in my opinion.”
“Scorpio eyes” is fourth song on the album because I wanted to tell a chronological story through these songs I wrote in real-time, in the order I wrote them. The song bridges an emotional comedown that builds to a mid-point in the record where ego, anxiety and confusion turn into rage. It’s also the calm before the storm, narratively. But visually, I’ve re-contextualized the song as the sixth of seven videos telling this story about taking the ‘blue pill’ and the ‘black pill’. It’s coming to the end of a story and the tail end of an identity crisis that culminates in swallowing reality (black) and being left with yourself, for better or worse.”
Nada Mucho can’t recommend Danny’s new record enough. We urge you to buy Fuck Danny Denial via Cruisin’ Records and join his Patreon for exclusive content direct from the source.