Captain Highside Premieres His Vibrant “Technicolor Rewind” Music Video

If you like it “smooth,” then you have a friend in Captain Highside. We might add “chill” as well since that’s what the Atlanta-based artist is all about. You’ll find out on his brand new single, “Technicolor Rewind,” from his latest album, SAGITTARIUS II.

Along with the song’s release comes a colourful new animated lyric video. With a retro look and a wide array of vibrant colours, the video is a visual representation of the inspiration Captain Highside was feeling when he wrote the song. The song is actually a collaboration between Captain Highside and St. Louis-based singer-songwriter Marley Angel.

Angel is an emerging talent in his own right, having just released his latest album, The Morning After Act I, last month.

Commenting on the creative process behind choosing the video to be an animated storytelling of his lyrics and how he chose to collaborate with the animator, Rnottemusic, the artist shares:

“This song is basically a manifested dreamscape; I thought of intense love and longing and when I closed my eyes I just saw flurries of different colors, and never really a true clear form of a person or being. This very peculiar and different imagery prompted me to write a song on how the emotion evoked such a response (almost like a synesthesia). Inherently because what I saw wasn’t tangible in the sphere of reality, I felt the best representation was animation, a great way to explore the unreal.

I have worked with RNotte on several other projects (including the video Dopamine, another song on this album) and so her style of work was one that I was familiar with and love: the animation she does is in the same breath complex and simplistic. It is rhythmic (it literally moves to the BPM of the track), and the style of animation and color schemes makes you feel nostalgic. My brand as a musician is blending nostalgia with the modern day, so RNotte seemed like the only choice for me.

In terms of color scheme, I wanted warmth in the background to complement the melody of the soft and falsetto vocals and the clean guitar riffs, but in the foreground I gave RNotte full liberty to utilize whatever tones and hues she wanted from hearing the music. Obviously, the colors in reference in the song (purple, green, amber, orange, red) make more pronounced cameos. I just wanted to show that love is embodied in all colors: that anyone can feel love however they want. That is the message of TECHNICOLOR REWIND.”

Captain Highside is the musical alias of Prashant Raghavendran. As impressive of a musician as he is, it’s only one of two occupations for him. Raghavendran’s other day job is as a pediatric hematologist. We bet you weren’t expecting us to say that!

Raghavendran has long loved music, and he takes it just as seriously as his other job. SAGITTARIUS II is the first of two LPs for him, with SAGITTARIUS I to follow soon. Over the course of 15 months or so, he worked very hard to put these records together, dropping several tracks along the way. Featuring eight new tracks, SAGITTARIUS II is not bound by any specific genre. You hear songs like the electronic intensive “MIRROR FIGHTS,” the dark hip-hop vibe of “CHASING ALLEYWAYS,” and, of course, the neo-soul of “TECHNICOLOR REWIND.” At times, the album is bold, but at other times, it’s chilled and laidback. This is perhaps Raghavendran’s most polished release as Captain Highside while also staying true to his roots in lo-fi. Whether it’s music or medicine, Raghavendran is going to approach it with both flair and mastery.

Captain Highside “Technicolor Rewind” single artwork