STRFKR - Atlantis

What this video is

Released February 19, 2013 alongside STRFKR's album Miracle Mile on Polyvinyl Records, 'Atlantis' arrived at the peak of Portland, Oregon's influence on American indie music. STRFKR embodied the city's DIY ethos: dance music built from synth-pop hooks layered over lyrics exploring mortality and longing. The video's setting in a walkable Portland residential neighborhood, populated with eccentric costumed strangers,…

Why it matters

Represents a key artifact of early-2010s indie synth-pop as practiced by Pacific Northwest DIY acts. STRFKR synthesized chillwave textures, electro-pop hooks, and existential lyrical themes into an accessible, danceable form that influenced the trajectory of indie dance music on labels like…

The director

Vice Cooler is an Alabama-born, LA-based American musician, music video director, and photographer. He began performing live in 1998 with pioneering DIY band XBXRX, which he co-founded in high school in Mobile, AL. He has drummed for KIT and guested with…