Amateur Best’s “They Know” Video Is A Dance-y Love Letter To Classic Horror
The U.K. electronic pop artist returns with a spooky new single.
Some artists are better left to their own devices. Amateur Best—born Joe Flory—has been working on his latest project, The Gleaners, for the past three years, buying old drum machines and synths only to sell them in order to afford the next piece of studio kit. Entirely self-produced and arranged, The Gleaners began as a concept album about a charity shop that morphed into a full-on dance record.
This DIY ethos shines through in "They Know," an intimate electro-pop number with vulnerable vocals and a subdued, creepy vibe. This is all intentional. The Artist Formerly Known As Primary 1 says, "This song started its life as a love letter to 1920s horror movies in all their stark and wretched beauty, and along the way some of my own hopes and fears got spliced in there too."
According to Flory, the song's video, directed by Effie Pappa, complete with contorting nuns and Flory's disappearing beard, "took inspiration from the more surreal side of German Expressionism" and Fritz Lang's Metropolis in particular. The visuals paint a stark portrait of this U.K. artist-to-watch while offering a glimpse into Flory's twisted, introverted headspace.
The Gleaners is out October 2nd on Brille Records.