The Tea Party - The River

What this video is

Released in 1993 as the debut single from The Tea Party's first EMI Music Canada major-label album Splendor Solis, 'The River' arrived at the apex of alternative rock's mainstream penetration in the wake of Nirvana. The Tea Party — a Windsor, Ontario trio — distinguished themselves from pure grunge by weaving blues-rock, progressive rock, and Middle Eastern musical influences into their sound. The video, shot in…

Why it matters

A landmark early entry in Canadian alternative rock video production, 'The River' is historically significant as one of Floria Sigismondi's first major directorial commissions — predating her internationally celebrated work by three years. It documents the aesthetic sensibility she would refine…

The director

Italian-Canadian director and photographer (born 1965, Pescara, Italy), raised in Hamilton, Ontario. Studied painting and photography at the Ontario College of Art and Design. Transitioned from fashion photography to music video direction via The Revolver…