Go Behind The Scenes Of The Boxer Rebellion's 'Big Ideas' Clip

UK-bred indie-rock lords The Boxer Rebellion are in the final stretch before the release of their fifth studio full-length, Ocean By Ocean, and, ahead of the album's debut, The Music is thrilled to have been granted exclusive access to a very cool behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the band's recent video for new single Big Ideas.

Despite having been plugging away for 15 years as a band, The Boxer Rebellion have shown they're not even close to running out of steam or ideas with their newest work; in fact, the album boasts 10 tracks of Boxer Rebellion-brand delight, and its the first of their records to feature new guitarist Andrew Smith, who joined the band following the departure of Todd Howe in 2014.

The clip for Big Ideas is indelibly '80s in its aesthetic, from the muted pastels and pink-blue hues to the graphics and general narrative. Although it carries a distinctly retro visual vibe, the making-of reveals very modern techniques in putting it together, utilising all manner of green screens and other effects to create the video's comprehensively quirky universe.

The visual concept is in no way an accident — in fact, the band says, they knew the basic idea of what they wanted before they started rolling.

"We already knew the general direction of our artwork as we started to play with more and more sounds, particularly ones that had an '80s feel to them," the band said. "We wanted the artwork and then in turn the videos to reflect that in as cool a way as possible. We tagged onto Adam Avilla's work, and we were delighted he decided to take on the project of the Big Ideas video. He really grasped the feel of the '80s coolness that we were connecting to really well, whilst still retaining a dark element."

The end result complements the meticulously constructed sonic arrangement of the track, an elaborate balance of reverb, echoes, atmospheric guitars, unassuming yet gorgeous vocal work and driving rhythms amounting to a soundscape that is — to steal a word from the band themselves — nothing short of cinematic.

"Big Ideas really is a keystone track on Ocean By Ocean, probably covering the widest range of our sounds and influences in one song," the band told The Music. "I can hear the freshness of our approach to the album as a whole in it whilst also really getting an essence of one of our strongest qualities, that huge cinematic soundscape. That said, there is definitely a different sounding bigness to it particularly in the layers of guitars and percussion. 

Ocean By Ocean will be released on Friday 29 April via Absentee/Kobalt, and the band couldn't be more excited about getting it out into the world at last.

"Ocean By Ocean" reflects our proudest time as a band," they said. "We are five albums in, and have been through a lot to get where we are, and at the same time tried our hardest to write honestly, and evolve at the same time, as all good bands should.

"We have never worked harder on a set of songs and I think the quality of this record as a whole reflects that. You can expect something different for sure, whilst certainly giving a nod to what we are best at." 

Watch the finished clip for Big Ideas below.