Squid share short O Monolith film ahead of upcoming tour dates

U.K. band Squid released their excellent second album O Monolith earlier this year, pushing their earlier post-punk sound into something a little more patient, loose, and rural sounding. Now it has been turned into a short film.

The band are gearing up to play their biggest headline tour to date in the U.K. and have shared a two-minute long work directed by Ivana Bobic. The film, also titled O Monolith, was made in response to the album and is described as "folding together the ancient and the modern in the British landscape."

Speaking on the film director Bobic says, "I read that the band had been inspired by Paul Wright’s Arcadia — an influence that has haunted my work for years. I loved the subversion of nostalgia, especially in the context of the English pastoral. And I was also very interested in how the film explored dance. I worked with choreographer/ performer Ted Rogers (currently Tracey Emin’s Performance Artist in Residence). Both of us had formative experiences in rave and club culture and wanted to channel that yearning for the ecstatic experience. Taking notes from Mark Leckey’s Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore, we explored the idea of rave and ritual morphing together against a brooding, ambivalent Kentish backdrop. This felt like a way of bringing together the ancient and modern. The piece expresses O Monolith as a whole — the music is so rich in ideas with huge highs and lows and, at the same time, is so abstract. It needed a different approach from a traditional music video. We wanted it to feel like a journey through the album so we decided to convey the breadth of emotions and moods rather than specific songs (although you do get glimmers of a sync performance with 'After the Flash')."

Squid previously built out the O Monolith universe when they shared a short story written by Paul Ewens and narrated by comedian Tim Key.

Check out the film and Squid's upcoming live dates below.

October 13 - Bristol - SWX
October 14 - Bristol - SWX
October 16 - Birmingham - Town Hall
October 17 - Leeds - O2 Academy Leeds
October 18 - Manchester - New Century
October 19 - Manchester - YES
October 20 - Kendal - Gan Yam Brewery
October 21 - Glasgow - Barrowland Ballroom
October 22 - Newcastle - Boiler Shop
October 24 - Belfast - Mandela Hall
October 25 - Dublin - Vicar Street
November 1 - London - Troxy