Fleet Foxes - Mykonos

What this video is

Released in early 2009, the 'Mykonos' video arrived at the apex of Fleet Foxes' breakout moment following the critical success of their self-titled debut album and the Sun Giant EP (2008). The video exemplifies the era's embrace of handmade, craft-based aesthetics as a reaction against the polish of mainstream pop production — a hallmark of the Sub Pop indie ecosystem. Its stop-motion animation connects to a…

Why it matters

A landmark artifact of the late-2000s indie folk visual canon. The video established Sean Pecknold as a leading auteur of animated music video direction, and positioned Fleet Foxes as a band whose visual identity — rooted in craft, darkness, and abstraction — was inseparable from their musical…

The director

Sean Pecknold is a filmmaker from Seattle, now based in Los Angeles, CA. He is the brother of Fleet Foxes frontman Robin Pecknold. Also known under the creative moniker 'Grandchildren,' he directed Fleet Foxes' 'White Winter Hymnal' video before 'Mykonos.'…