Blitzen Trapper - The Tree (featuring Alela Diane)

What this video is

Released June 8, 2010 as a single from Blitzen Trapper's fifth album 'Destroyer of the Void' (Sub Pop Records), the video arrives at the height of the band's critical ascent following their 2008 breakthrough 'Furr'. The collaboration with Alela Diane — herself a prominent figure in the Pacific Northwest freak-folk scene — amplifies the track's pastoral, mythological register. The 2010 indie folk moment saw Sub Pop…

Why it matters

A defining document of the Pacific Northwest indie-folk/Americana revival at its commercial and artistic apex. The video's mystical visual grammar and dual-vocal folk duet format exemplify how Sub Pop-era artists used music video as an extension of lyrical mythology, reinforcing Blitzen Trapper's…

The director

NYU Tisch School of the Arts graduate. Director, writer, and editor with 20+ years in film and video production across New York, Portland, and Los Angeles. Has worked in television, music videos, and independent film for clients including HBO and Sub Pop…