More than a decade since chillwave had its moment, Washed Out is still making dreamy electro-pop tunes, and now he's released his latest one. "Too Late" comes with an ambitious crowd-sourced video.
The song taps into that classic, reverb-hazed chillwave atmosphere. The singing is more confident, the synths are crisper and the beats have a little more swagger, but the spirit is still there. It was self-produced and self-recorded by project mastermind Ernest Greene, with mixing handled by Ben H. Allen.
The dreamy vibe is complemented by the video. Greene had intended to film the video in Italy, but when those plans got cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he sourced a video from fans on Instagram. It's a travel-themed clip very that's very different from the isolated state we're currently living in.
You can read a lengthy statement about "Too Late" from Greene at the bottom of the page, and check out the globe-crossing clip below. It's out via Sub Pop.
Ernest Greene on the making of "Too Late":
I'd spent months planning a music video for a new song called "Too Late." My inspiration was a Mediterranean sunset I saw late last year, and the plan was to shoot on the coast of Italy with a team of UK and European collaborators. As we got closer to the shoot date, word about the severity and the speed of the virus started becoming daily news, and it became clear it wasn't going to happen the way we'd planned. We tried to move the shoot several times (to Malta, Croatia, Spain, and eventually the UK), and one after another, countries shut their borders. Seeing Italy hit so hard was especially difficult to see.
I put up an IG post asking for fans to help me come up with the raw footage I had in mind - those first few days, as I was going through photos of my trips and tours, the memories of traveling and experiences I'd had took on a new significance. I wanted the video to capture those same moments for other people in their lives, and give us all an excuse to remember what it'll look like again when it passes.
I went in thinking if I got 100 clips, I'd have enough to make the video I wanted to make. 30 minutes in, I had the 100 clips, and a few days in, I had over 1,200 clips — from London, Bali, Okinawa, Ann Arbor, Dubrovnik and a few hundred other places around the world. It was pretty amazing for me to see the vids and pics flood in like they did.
I was blown away by the response, and I'm excited to share the project with everyone now. For me, it's turned out to be a much needed reminder of how connected we can all be when we've never been more physically distanced from each other. I hope everyone that contributed and everyone that watches the video gets the joy from it I do.
I don't know what the immediate future holds for Washed Out... I have a lot of new music in various states, and other projects I was looking forward to working on this summer. I don't know when I'll be able to tour again, or when any of the other new music will come out, but I'm staying optimistic about both….
The song taps into that classic, reverb-hazed chillwave atmosphere. The singing is more confident, the synths are crisper and the beats have a little more swagger, but the spirit is still there. It was self-produced and self-recorded by project mastermind Ernest Greene, with mixing handled by Ben H. Allen.
The dreamy vibe is complemented by the video. Greene had intended to film the video in Italy, but when those plans got cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he sourced a video from fans on Instagram. It's a travel-themed clip very that's very different from the isolated state we're currently living in.
You can read a lengthy statement about "Too Late" from Greene at the bottom of the page, and check out the globe-crossing clip below. It's out via Sub Pop.
Ernest Greene on the making of "Too Late":
I'd spent months planning a music video for a new song called "Too Late." My inspiration was a Mediterranean sunset I saw late last year, and the plan was to shoot on the coast of Italy with a team of UK and European collaborators. As we got closer to the shoot date, word about the severity and the speed of the virus started becoming daily news, and it became clear it wasn't going to happen the way we'd planned. We tried to move the shoot several times (to Malta, Croatia, Spain, and eventually the UK), and one after another, countries shut their borders. Seeing Italy hit so hard was especially difficult to see.
I put up an IG post asking for fans to help me come up with the raw footage I had in mind - those first few days, as I was going through photos of my trips and tours, the memories of traveling and experiences I'd had took on a new significance. I wanted the video to capture those same moments for other people in their lives, and give us all an excuse to remember what it'll look like again when it passes.
I went in thinking if I got 100 clips, I'd have enough to make the video I wanted to make. 30 minutes in, I had the 100 clips, and a few days in, I had over 1,200 clips — from London, Bali, Okinawa, Ann Arbor, Dubrovnik and a few hundred other places around the world. It was pretty amazing for me to see the vids and pics flood in like they did.
I was blown away by the response, and I'm excited to share the project with everyone now. For me, it's turned out to be a much needed reminder of how connected we can all be when we've never been more physically distanced from each other. I hope everyone that contributed and everyone that watches the video gets the joy from it I do.
I don't know what the immediate future holds for Washed Out... I have a lot of new music in various states, and other projects I was looking forward to working on this summer. I don't know when I'll be able to tour again, or when any of the other new music will come out, but I'm staying optimistic about both….