geneva - tranquillizer

What this video is

Released 12 May 1997 on Nude Records during the final commercial peak of Britpop, 'Tranquillizer' was Geneva's breakthrough single and was voted NME Single of the Year. Geneva — a Scottish five-piece from Aberdeen signed to Suede's label Nude — occupied a darker, more atmospheric corner of the mid-90s UK indie scene, drawing comparisons to Suede while resisting easy Britpop categorisation. Their debut album…

Why it matters

Represents the intersection of atmospheric Scottish indie rock and the emerging auteur music video culture of 1997 UK. The Cunningham direction lends the single an art-video pedigree unusual for guitar-pop of the era, bridging the NME-approved indie world and the experimental visual language more…

The director

English music video director and video artist born in Reading, Berkshire in 1970. Early career included comic book illustration, prosthetic makeup, and model work on films including Alien³ and Judge Dredd. Recruited by Stanley Kubrick to design animatronic…