Music needs people who join the dots, who can see potential in artists, who can bring new angles to music. Cork man Brendan Canty understands that music doesn't exist in a vacuum. Music is inspiration. It can be the starting point of a conversation, or a daydream. As a music video director, Canty has used music as raw materials for a visual medium.
His 2013 video for Hozier's Take Me To Church is his best-known work, taking the song's religion-as-metaphor for sexual redemption and juxtaposing it with the oppression of homosexuality in society in which religious beliefs are a factor. The video's dramatic black-and-white clip commented on the injustice against gay people in Russia when it was released and it also helped break Hozier on the international stage.
Before that video, which received a MTV VMA nomination in 2015, and became a catalyst for Canty's directing career, the teenage Canty wanted to be a football coach, but creative expression was always in the family.
“My mother was an artist,” says 27-year-old Canty. “She was in art college. She was always encourage us to create things.” An interest in graphic design lead to an interest in filmmaking. Canty loved music but didn't want to play an instrument. He applied for a graphic design course in the Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) but got his second choice in Multimedia.
A blessing in disguise
It was to be a blessing in disguise. The course prepared him for a multi-skilled lifestyle and crucially, introduced him to the pairing of music and video.
"We had one class that was experimental video. I picked a track from Broken Social Scene's album Feel Good Lost. The video turned out great and it was the first of my style."
He adopted the "Feel Good Lost" moniker for his endeavours and his obsession turned into a craft. At the time, Canty was inspired by the modern psychedelic classic Merriweather Post-Pavilion by Animal Collective. He delved into creating free music videos for songs he loved.
Whether by accident or design, Canty favoured the music of upcoming buzzed-out electronic acts rather than established acts and set about making visuals for songs from Clams Casino, Slow Magic, Sun Glitters, Daithí, Giraffage and Mmoths.
All the while, Canty was developing the Feel Good Lost aesthetic, with his CIT and video partner Conal Thomson, through music videos, graphic design, photography, live visuals and artwork.
Inspiration for Canty's work usually strikes “in a serene moment, on a bus to Cork or when I'm about to fall asleep”.
“Your mind unlocks and you can come up with anything,” says Canty. “Worry or lack of confidence goes out the window and you can really think creatively.”
Spotting talent and developing the label
Through his video work in music, Canty was also developing relationships in the industry, and when Cork DJ Stevie G asked him to make a video for a young producer called Ian Ring, Canty heard some potential in his music.
“Stevie had been grooming Ian for bigger things by giving him opportunities such as a DJ support slot with Kaskade in front of 2,000 kids in the Marquee in Cork,” says Canty.
“I turned Ian onto some music like Purity Ring, Starslinger and Gold Panda and he got so into it. I said to him, if you can make music like that, I can get a singer for you.”
Canty, acting unintentionally as an A&R man, introduced Ring to his girlfriend, singer Rachel Koeman and the pair hit it off and recorded an EP, inspired by the the likes of Purity Ring, under the name Young Wonder. Canty released the EP under his Feel Good Lost name.
That debut EP, Show Your Teeth, still brings in a regular amount of revenue through its Spotify streams. Two of Young Wonder's songs, Orange and To You, have surpassed the one million plays mark on the service with To You alone racking up 2.5 million plays.
Feel Good Lost developed from a music video production company to incorporating music management and a label that counts Talos, Joni and SertOne among its roster of artists. It's a multi-disciplinary company that echoes the multimedia nature of Canty's skills.
Moving from visual to narrative-lead work
While the artist and label side has been developing, with the help of seasoned A&R man and DJ Barry O'Donohue, Canty's own directing career has moved from DIY visuals-based work to narrative-lead videos, and with it has come bigger budgets and opportunities. It's a transition that Canty humbly admits he struggled with at first.
“I remember when the Hozier video came out and it was doing really well, I got asked to do that style of video for other acts,” Canty recalls. “I didn't win a job for six months. It's the selling of the idea on paper that was difficult, but I think it's now one of my strengths.”
The other main difference now, is that with the larger jobs comes a crew, and more exact expectations.
“For the Hozier video, Conal and I shot everything, produced it and had some help, but it was a lot more DIY,” he says. “I didn't do storyboards or shot lists. Then, it was a case of knowing where I wanted to go and what I wanted to get in my head.
“Suddenly, you've got a director of photography there and he's asking 'what's next?'. Without me behind the camera, I wasn't able to tell. I found it really hard to make those calls but I'm getting better at it.”
From music videos to commericals
Canty's career is now moving into commercial work. He's signed to two production companies - Hinterland in Ireland and Academy in the UK - in an effort to pursue new opportunities.
“I love music videos but you're not going to make a living from it,” Canty concedes. “It's a breeding ground for directors.”
Canty also admits to being daunted by the prospect of moving up in stature but he appears to be managing things just fine. In the last year, he's directed videos for Le Galaxie, All Tvvins and Gavin James, along with an advert for Gas Networks Ireland. His Feel Good Lost video partner, Conal Thomson, is also striking out on his own.
In the week we meet in early January, Canty is preparing to direct a big-brand advert in both Dublin and Los Angeles.
The last time he was in LA was at the MTV Video Music Awards last year, when the Hozier video was nominated for an award in the Best Rock video category, a spectacle he describes as "tacky, like The X-Factor".
“It's the biggest award for music videos, but it has nothing to do with it,” he says. “In the end, the rock category was relegated from the main show! All our friends stayed up til four or five in the morning to watch it and we all found out on Twitter that we didn't win.
“It was fun watching the spectacle of the celebrity of it all,” he chuckles, referencing Taylor Swift (“like the popular high school girl”) and Kanye's curious long acceptance speech.
Would he do a Taylor Swift video, if asked?
“I'd love to but I'd imagine it would be a nightmare with the amount of red tape,” he admits. “With costumes, hair, how she looks and lighting, it would be all about what the label and she wants. You would really need to be a director with a big ego. You'd have to be a snobby dick to do a video like that.”
