14 Feb 2020

VIDEO PREMIERE: Chris William ‘Don’t Forget’

From RNZ Music, 10:00 am on 14 February 2020

Christchurch singer-songwriter Chris William makes gorgeously cinematic bass-driven songs that include elements of soul, folk, electronica and more. We’re proud to be the first to share his new single and video ‘Don’t Forget’

Chris is a trained jazz bassist who builds his songs from the bassline up, using a blend of acoustic and synthesised sounds – moody synthesisers, manipulated strings, reversed piano, and even bird song.

He released his first EP, Out of Sight in 2018, after years of session bass playing with the likes of the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, the Court Theatre and countless bands.

‘Don’t Forget’ is from Chris’s forthcoming EP, Light Shines Above due out in April.

Chris is playing shows in Autumn:

  • Christchurch: Saturday, March 28 | Space Academy
  • Auckland: Saturday, April 4 | Wine Cellar

The idea for the song’s video came from a visit to the Clay Cliffs in Omarama on a family trip: “Their stark beauty staggered me,” Chris says, “How they seemed to exist in their own little world, distinct from the more familiar Southern landscape.”

He decided to take a road trip with friends and a camera, to see what would happen. Rather ambitiously, they did it as a day trip, arriving with only three hours of light left.

“We arrived around 6:30pm … Thankfully, the weather was in our favour and we got all the shots we needed before darkness fell.

“We then drove back, cranking 90’s throwbacks to keep us awake, arriving back in Christchurch at 2:30am.”

The cinematographer, Luke Drinnan, is a friend and ex-student of Chris’s. The director, Naomi Haussmann, has been a good friend of his for years and is a talented photographer.

“I’m very lucky to have had her photograph all of my music projects for the last few years,” Chris says.

Chris’s flatmate Struan Finlay edited the video, as well as mixing and mastering the entire EP.

“The whole process was a very collaborative experiment, and I’m so happy with the result,” Chris says.

Video credits
  • Director: Naomi Haussmann
  • Cinematographer: Luke Drinnan
  • Editors: Struan Finlay, Luke Drinnan, Naomi Haussman, Chris William
  • Cast: Chris William, Naomi Haussmann, Struan Finlay, Tim Heeringa
  • Filmed on location at The Clay Cliffs, Omarama, 2020
  • Thanks: Abigail Egden, Alice & Winston Tanner, Casper Heeringa
Christchurch singer songwriter Chris William

Christchurch singer songwriter Chris William Photo: Supplied

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