Canadian indie poppers Royal Canoe released their latest album, Something Got Lost Between Here and the Orbit, just last week and the band’s new single is the catchy, groove-laden “Bicycle” that quickly establishes itself as a bonafide earworm. The tune is backed by this lovely new animated video created by Bill Acheson and Matea Radic. They’re going to tell us about how they made the video, but please be sure to check out the band’s huge list of tour dates below so you can catch them live.
Acheson tells PopMatters, “Royal Canoe first approached us with the idea of an animated lyric video with Matea illustrating and me designing the typography for the lyrics. They identified that it was written from a child’s perspective so we pitched back the idea of a children’s storybook theme with simple line drawings based on our interpretation of the lyrics and vibrant colours to sync with some of the branded elements from the album art.
“We started spitballing visual ideas line-by-line not knowing exactly how the process would go since this was our first collaboration, but we quickly developed a natural work flow and there ended up being a lot of overlap in our intended roles. Matea drew all of the frame-by-frame animation and I applied keyframe animation and integrated the type in After Effects. Some scenes we’re more pre-conceived than others with a lot of exploration and playing around on each side, followed by discussion to feel out what was fitting and flowing best with the varying feel of the story told through the track.
“Overall we’re happy with the finished product. It was awesome to work with like minded artists and we hope that it’s well received by their fans.”
TOUR DATES
09.23 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Hi Hat
09.24 – Davis, CA @ Sophia’s Thai Kitchen
09.25 – San Francisco, CA @ Brick & Mortar
09.28 – Portland, OR @ Holocene
09.29 – Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern
09.30 – Vancouver, BC @ Imperial
10.01 – Victoria, BC @ Lucky Bar
10.03 – Rossland, BC @ The Flying Steamshovel
10.05 – Calgary, AB @ Marquee Beer Market & Stage
10.06 – Red Deer, AB @ Bo’s Bar and Grill
10.07 – Edmonton, AB @ UP+DT Festival
10.08 – Saskatoon, SK @ The Capitol
10.18 – Kingston, ON @ The Mansion
10.19 – Quebec City, QC @ L’Anti
10.20 – Fredericton, NB @ Capital Complex
10.21 & 10.22 – Halifax, NS @ Halifax Pop Explosion
10.26 – St. Catharines, ON @ L3
10.27 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
10.28 – Ottawa, ON @ Zaphod Beeblebrox
10.29 – Montreal, QC @ La Vitrola
10.30 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground Showcase Lounge
11.01 – Boston, MA @ Great Scott
11.02 – Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle
11.05 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
11.07 – Columbus, OH @ Rumba Café
11.09 – Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen
11.11 – Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews
11.12 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
01.25 – Hamburg, DE @ MS Stubnitz
01.26 – Hannover, DE @ Feinkostlampe
01.31 – Manchester, UK @ The Castle Hotel
02.01 – London, UK @ The Slaughtered Lamb
02.04 – Freiburg, DE @ The Great Räng Teng Teng
02.07 – Vienna, AT @ B 72
02.08 – Nuremberg, DE @ K4
02.09 – Dortmund, DE @ FZW
02.10 – Dresden, DE @ Beatpol
02.11 – Berlin, DE @ Berghain Kantine