Oliver Malcolm - The Machine

What this video is

Released July 30, 2020, during peak pandemic lockdown, 'The Machine' arrived as Oliver Malcolm's fourth single and represented an explicit anti-establishment statement. Inspired by the late-1970s British punk scene — particularly The Clash — the video channels the DIY energy of UK punk through a modern internet-native lens. Malcolm, a Swedish-born London-raised artist operating out of LA via Darkroom/Interscope,…

Why it matters

A pivotal early document of the 2020s internet-punk crossover: Malcolm collapses the distance between hip-hop production craft, UK punk ideology, and alternative pop songwriting into a high-velocity visual and sonic statement. The video's rapid editing pace and warm lo-fi palette situate it at the…

The director

Swedish-born, UK-raised, LA-based singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist (born 29 September 1999). Formerly produced under the moniker Big Kidd, earning credits with MF DOOM, IDK, Joey Bada$$, AlunaGeorge, Jay Rock, Masego and Tinashe before…