"Dancin' in the Dark" with Toussaint Morrison - Music
Toussaint Morrison's recent new single
"Dancin' in the Dark"
has instant vintage charisma!
If you ever checked my email you'd notice many about musicians. So many it's beyond human. Some stand out. The musician known as Toussaint Morrison definitely did. The music video for "Dancin' in the Dark" video from the upcoming SHPSHFTR Vol. 1 full length album being released September 4th captures your imagination many different ways. What do you see? Twisted, surreal animation like that one cool sequence at the end of TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE or a heist film from the 90's? I'm happy either way.
Toussaint Morrison, a fine fellow.
Somebody else took this picture.
Please give them credit for it.
His IMDb photo is fine art, too.
Please forgive me...I just can't write about musicians, comedians or artists that my humble self doesn't respect, enjoy and like. My interviews are designed to be encouraging conversations that way. When Score Press set me up to talk to Toussaint Morrison, I got all wiggly with excitement. Wow! His music video is so avant garde! C'est formidable! That's French for, "cool." It was in the 90's during high school when I learned it in class. Now I'm out of French. That's ok, his band is not out of cool!
Toussaint Morrison with some of his band.
The description for the music video in my email describes Morrison's big influences such as Questlove, comic books and video games. Who couldn't love those references? I should have asked Morrison if he liked the comic book PLANETARY. He's the kind of gentleman who would enjoy the deep levels of a comic book about comic books like that. Cool people get the meta. They understand satire is complimentary, and how a comic book writer like Warren Ellis can be so badass they create a creation that escapes their captivity. We can do that with our lives, in our own lifetime.
Another album by Toussaint Morrison. An
astute observer will notice it says something
in French. Something about love?
In the music video (produced by the mavenous Mike Lauer) his band, the Riverdale Five, engage in what Morrison calls, "survivalism." The big moves they make reminded me of a classic, "Bangarang," by SKRILLEX. Featuring a parallel "heist with a heart of gold motif," it is just one level to the music video Morrison's mind gifted us with.
"Bangarang" and "Dancin' in the Dark" both have cartoon elements amidst surreal narratives. That's difficult to do. It takes a Kubrickian interior understanding of what makes styles tick to get them to tock with each other within the body they are the bones of. You'll love his organic vision.
The incredible Questlove. Any artist influenced by this
elite director, producer and musician is amidst geniuses.
This picture is from Stereofox Music Blog.
Enough of my prattle...behold the interview!
"Dancin' in the Dark" has a light hearted pop coating with a vast, infinite array of dark poetic influences underneath. Does this song have a specific message?
Hey Jasen! First off, thank you so much for responding to the press we've sent your way. To get to your question, the short answer is a sinister yes. "Dancin' in the Dark" is the letter in the absence of someone who has suddenly disappeared. It's not even an explanation, it's an invitation to the next step into the unknown.
I wrote this story after a sudden fork in my life appeared, and I was forced to either entertain an entirely authentic version of myself and not acknowledge the elephant in the room, or embark on a journey of danger, honestly and solitude.
"Dancin' in the Dark" is the story of no calm without chaos, and sometimes the chaos is calming (depending on your nervous system and childhood).
The art for the music video is surreal, reminding me of a living cartoon. The cinematography is also very dark, with vivid primary colors. Did you come up with those captivating visuals?
SHPSHFTR Vol. 1 is an album based on the reality of it being ok to not be ok, and that sometimes we revert back to comic books, video games, cartoons we saw as kids and can find a source of courage in them.
The whole, big, beautiful band,
the Riverdale Five.
If you know who took this picture
give them a hearty endorsement.
For me, "Dancin' in the Dark" goes back to those weird Archie comic books I'd see on the racks at comic stores, or even the perceivable pitch dark of early Grand Theft Auto and Liberty City, where there was a whimsical not-give-a-fuckness to just go for whatever it was you desired to do.
Whether it was toppling a kingpin who backstabbed you during a bank robbery, or to win the talent show to raise money for the school ( 'cause like, why was Archie and The Gang always having to raise money for their school? Was there no public funding in Riverdale?). Oh, and yes, I picked out the colors for the music video. Once I saw that green couch, I knew it had to be in the faux phot shoot for the gang.
The warped reality as cartoons becomes horror in
TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE.
There's a story to this video. People have to watch it. The story reminds me of badass heist films like POINT BLANK, the criminal epic LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS, or other gems like DEAD PRESIDENTS. Why did you decide to go that route with the music video?
Ahhhhhh, I love that you picked up on that and referenced DEAD PRESIDENTS!!! When characters, or really anyone, decides to rob a bank or commit to organized crime of stealing multiple cars, it's not an act in a vacuum.
There's a story to the desperation, and although the gang in this music video goes from needing money to heisting fly-assed Honda Civics, there's a whimsical misguided desperation there proving really anything can happen at any time in the world they're in. I decided to go that route with the video because I knew the gang wouldn't make it to the end together.
I wanted to play upon the bravado of Arch and see where Reg and J could end up in the smoke and shrapnel after the fallout. (To be continued...)
Back when 90's films you loved about
the 70's said what needed to be said,
punched up, spoke truth to power, hated
hypocrisy and were controversial yet cool.
What's the worst question a journalist interviewing a musician can ask?
I honestly don't think there's a "worst" question a journalist can ask a musician. 1. Because the lowest never seems to be the lowest. There's always some more insane rock bottom people perceivable get to. 2. "Worst" is as relative as it gets. I toured for a band for 10 years on the road and slept on wood floors in the 90 degree heat of North Carolina. My "worst" or tolerance for "worst" will be different from the next creative.
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