British singer/songwriter Toby Jepson has premiered a new animated video for the lead track from his Look Out! mini-album trilogy. Titled ‘Alone With You’, it’s the first of 20 brand new songs by the Wayward Sons and former Little Angels frontman that are being released under his solo moniker, Toby and the Whole Truth.
‘Alone With You’ is an energetic, full-throttle rock anthem that delves into the challenges of men’s mental health, drawing from Jepson’s personal experiences. This theme is brought to life vividly in the single’s new psychedelic animated video, that offers a captivating journey through the intricate corridors of his mind. The visuals intended to poignantly depict the vulnerability and fragility one can feel amidst the chaotic and often overwhelming nature of the modern digital world.
“My intention with the videos associated with my new Look Out! song collection was to create something unique that avoided the clichés of standard rock images,” Jepson commented.
A few years ago, I met a young animator called Euan Friel shortly after he graduated from university, where he had taken a course in animation and VFX. I was struck by his style, which captures a simplicity shot through with emotion in the very lines he drew. He worked on the videos for the Wayward Sons’ last album and was brilliantly inventive—a dream to work with.“From the very start, I didn’t want to appear in these videos as such, but I recognised the need for the viewer to understand that the songs are very personal to me and hence should involve my image somehow. I discussed this concept with Euan and suggested he animate me as a line drawing from home-shot video I took of myself performing the song.
“Animation is a fine art; it has the ability to touch a subject with a lightness of touch that somehow gets below the surface. Because it comes across as a two-dimensional art form, it lures the viewer in with its seemingly harmless intentions. I mean, where is the threat or fear in a drawing or model? That is its power: it can represent anything and mean everything in a way that live action cannot.
“I wanted to explore the very real difficulties mental health problems can cause, using imagery that suggested how confusing it is to suffer emotional trauma—how the brain can conjure and trigger.
“The video is a trip through my cerebral cortex—a kaleidoscopic journey of colour and texture, contortion and manifestation. Our imaginations are complex and driven by experience and can easily boil over if rational thought falls victim to malevolent external forces. Every aspect of the video deals with an element of how trauma can lodge itself in our everyday lives until it feels ‘normal’ or at least recognisable—from how thinly drawn you can feel to how visceral and confusing the world around us can appear.”
You can check out the video for ‘Alone With You’below, available digitally, for the whole Look Out! Vol.1 mini-album click here.
Look Out! Vol.1 features ‘Introduction’, ‘Alone With You’, ‘Sweet Smell Of Success’, ‘What Will It Take?’, ‘Throw It Away’, ‘One Track Mind’, and ‘The One Turns Out The Light’.
