Moaning - Artificial

What this video is

Released January 15, 2018 as a promotional single ahead of Moaning's self-titled Sub Pop debut (March 2, 2018), 'Artificial' emerges from the Los Angeles DIY post-punk underground centered around venues like The Smell and Pehrspace. The video deliberately evokes MTV's '120 Minutes' alt-rock programming of the late 1980s–early 2000s, situating the band within a lineage of post-punk and new wave acts while critiquing…

Why it matters

A key artifact of the 2010s Sub Pop post-punk revival, 'Artificial' exemplifies how LA DIY acts translated underground punk energy into high-concept, aesthetically self-aware music video production. The video's 35mm practical-effects approach and MTV nostalgia signaling place it within a tradition…

The director

A Stranger is a directorial team/collective active in the Los Angeles music video scene during the mid-to-late 2010s. They are credited as the directors of Moaning's 'Artificial' video, confirmed by Sub Pop Records, The FADER, DIY Magazine, Clash Magazine,…