Behind the Video: White Denim’s James Petralli Takes Us into the “Second Dimension”

Hailing out of Austin, Texas led by James Petralli, White Denim have become one of the bands to watch cementing their place with the release of their acclaimed twelfth album 12 late last year.

While the album represents Petrallia stepping out of his low-tech comfort zone, it also documents a turbulent and sometimes painful period for his family. Back in Austin, he and his partner Elaine were caring for her father, who passed in spring ’21, and once they’d moved to LA, it fell to James to homeschool his kids. Once the pandemic eased, he’d do the school runs and parenting, then make music in between, as well as pick out ideas on a classical guitar while helping the young ’uns drift off to sleep at night.

Mixing modern with retro, funk with garage rock, “Second Dimension,” one of the highlights from the album, dropped as a single last year and epitomizes everything that has turned the group into one of the hottest names on the rock block.

Fresh from a UK tour and ahead of their upcoming US dates in May, James takes us behind the scenes on the video, talking about the inspiration, the concept and his favourite moments from making the visual in the latest round of Behind The Video

Who directed the video?

James Petralli: “My neighbour O’Connor Hartnett made the video. He’s a brilliant director of photography at the beginning of his career. One of the best perks of living in Los Angeles is my proximity to so many talented professionals working in the creative world.”

What’s the concept behind the video? Help us to understand the video’s concept in more detail and how it ties into the lyrics.

“I think that Connor might be more suited to answer this question, but I’ll try. The lyrics were in part inspired by a reading of ‘The Red Book’ by Jung. I spoke with Connor about this over coffee, and he created this idea loosely based on Jungian archetypes. We had no budget or crew, so the whole thing hinges on a simple choreography between me and a single camera. I read an Eno quote recently, and he said something along the lines of these things that make good records are deadlines and tight budgets. I tend to agree. I think we (especially Connor) did an excellent job considering the circumstances of its creation.”

White Denim “Second Dimension” Video Still

Did the band have a concept in mind based on the song, or was the video creator given full rein to come up with a suitable visual companion?

“Connor came up with this idea, and I just helped with certain small things. I tend to try to just trust the artists that I collaborate with. My interest in working with video has grown over the years, but I do my best to respect other creative people and recognise my own limitations and strengths.”

Where was it made?

“In and around my neighbourhood. I live right on the line between Altadena and Pasadena in East LA.”

White Denim “Second Dimension” Video Still

What was your favourite part of the creation of the video?

“I enjoyed spending the day with neighbour and bandmate Michael Hunter, who plays the mailman in the video. It was just the three of us for one day, and then Connor did a brilliant job bringing it all together in the editing room. I also liked thrift shopping for the costumes. The cowboy was especially fun to cobble together. I used him for a rodeo clown Halloween costume a couple of months after the shoot. My kids are at prime trick-or-treating ages, and we enjoy the holiday.”

Based on how this one was made, are you looking forward to doing another?

“Connor and I produced a couple of commercials for my partner Elaine’s sparkling water company after we finished this project. I hope to do much more with this team in the future.”

White Denim “Second Dimension” Video Still

What are some of your favourite music videos? What about when you were growing up?

“I am 43 now, so I grew up glued to MTV. I had the Criterion DVD collections of Spike Jonze, Chris Cunningham, and Michel Gondry on constantly when I was in college. There are a ton of excellent directors working today, but I do feel that something has been lost in the content era. People take media for granted today, it seems, because of this, the quality seems to have suffered, and the short-form work is less frequently moving, at least to me. Through the nineties, though, I thought much of it was sacred.”

What music video director would you say is your favourite?

“I loved Michel Gondry’s videos. They are whimsical and vibrant. They always felt humble in a way, but grandiose at the same time. It’s work like his that inspired me to live a life in art.”

White Denim ‘12’ Album Artwork