Ra Ra Riot

"Water" (video)

BY Alex HudsonPublished Dec 11, 2015

Indie chamber-rock-gone-synth-pop outfit Ra Ra Riot recently rolled out a lyric video for "Water," their new single produced by Vampire Weekend's Rostam Batmanglij. Now, they've given this track from their upcoming Need Your Light a full-blown music video.

The synth-y pop anthem is slick and modern-sounding, and the video captures its grandeur with cinematic solo-mo visuals. Wes Miles prowls towards the camera, initially appearing in the dusty desert of Joshua Tree, CA. He eventually ends up in Los Angeles and sees some of his bandmates along the way.

It was directed by Batmanglij and Josh Goleman. The band explained the clip with the following statement:

Hi! Last month we bounced over to LA for a couple of days to make a music video with our good (and suprememly talented) friends Rostam and Josh [Goleman]. We set out for Joshua Tree at around 3:30 in the morning, with our boxes of Joe, rollerblades, and analgesic anamorphic lenses in tow, and by 5pm we were wrapping beneath the Santa Monica pier. There were a bunch of stops in between that I don't particularly recall but apparently (spoiler alert) included wind farms, street hockey, and a guy in a tunnel with a tambourine. I think I ate a burrito at some point.

This video fits right into our whole (unintentional) MO for making this record – working with old friends for whom we have a ton of respect and, perhaps even more importantly, trust. Plus, Rostam had a hand in writing, recording, and producing the song (Water), and so it makes sense that he was involved with both the concept and execution of the video. Hopefully the result is a testament to the burrito fun we had making it.


Scroll past Ra Ra Riot's tour schedule to check it out. Need Your Light will arrive on February 19 via Barsuk Records.

Tour dates:

3/02 Albany, NY - The Hollow
3/03 Boston, MA - Paradise
3/04 New York, NY - Webster Hall
3/05 Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer
3/06 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
3/08 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
3/10 Savannah, GA - Savannah Stopover Festival
3/11 Atlanta, GA - Aisle 5
3/12 Birmingham, AL - Saturn
3/13 Nashville, TN - Exit In
3/15 Houston, TX - Walter's Downtown
3/16-18 Austin, TX- SXSW
3/21 Phoenix, AZ - Valley Bar
3/22 San Diego, CA - The Irenic
3/24 Los Angeles, CA - Teragram Ballroom
3/25 Santa Barbara, CA - Soho Restaurant & Music Club
3/27 San Francisco, CA - The Independent
3/30 Seattle, WA - Neumos
3/31 Vancouver, BC - Biltmore Cabaret
4/01 Portland, OR - Revolution Hall
4/03 Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
4/04 Denver, CO - Bluebird Theatre
4/06 Kansas City, MO - The Riot Room
4/07 Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock Social Club
4/08 Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
4/11 Columbus, OH - A&R Music Bar
4/12 Millvale, PA - Mr. Small's Theatre
4/14 Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace
4/15 Montreal, QC - Bar Le Ritz
4/16 Geneva, NY - The Cracker Factory
 

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