Indie Singer-Songwriter Riley Pearce Take The Plunge With New Music Video For “The Water” From Debut LP ‘The Water & The Rough’

Following the release of his captivating debut album The Water & The Rough earlier this month, Australian indie singer-songwriter Riley Pearce has shared the new music video for his latest single “The Water”.

“We wanted to lean into the song’s concept but bringing in a more cult like collective mindset to represent the struggles so many of us have in finding solace and the often sheep mentality that comes with carving out success in the music scene”, Riley begins, elaborating on the new single and video.

“The song is very much divided in two. After chatting with director Cedric Tang about the way we’d film the music video, we wanted to highlight the bass – stuttering to match it with zombielike movements from the actors…..The moment we hit that water though it was a real battle to control the teeth chatters, it was a great team to work with on this video and I’m super proud of how it turned out.”

Diving further into its process, director Cedric Wang continues:

“Riley came to me with the idea behind the track and I loved it. The track is split into two parts, and we really wanted to visually show this sense of trance-like social conformity in the first half by having everyone dressed in similar clothes and walking the same way to the beat. Once the song changes pace, that’s the moment where ‘the spell breaks’ and Riley has a kind of personal epiphany about his journey in music, and that’s when visuals get a bit more eclectic and alive.

I decided to shoot the first half almost completely on the tripod, in the middle of the afternoon to give it that static, lifeless feeling; and the second half was pretty much shot handheld through the evening & night to give it a bit more energy and human-like movement. I loved the idea of using twilight, the transition time between day and night, to really push the moment the song transitions. Shooting day itself was everything all at once, we were hot & sweaty, then cold and shivering a few hours later, but it was a great time with everyone out in the bush. Working with Riley is always super collaborative and I love that.”

With Riley’s soothing vocal qualities at the forefront, the video’s narrative and spiritual metaphors are elevated further as “The Water” balances being both commanding and hypnotizing.

Check it out below:

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Singer-Songwriter Riley Pearce Announces Debut Full-Length ‘The Water & The Rough’; Shares New Single “Furniture” Australian Indie Folk Artist Riley Pearce Stretches His Legs On New Single “Keep Moving” Australian Singer-Songwriter Riley Pearce Reflects On The Ups And Downs Of Touring On New Single “8 Hour Drive” Indie Artist Bay Ledges Cleans Up A River In New Music Video For Latest Single “In Water”