Washed Out - Eyes Be Closed

What this video is

Released in July 2011 alongside Washed Out's Sub Pop debut 'Within and Without,' 'Eyes Be Closed' arrived at the high-water mark of the chillwave genre—a movement defined by hazy, reverb-drenched synthesis of synth-pop, shoegaze, and bedroom electronic music. Ernest Greene's project had already achieved cultural ubiquity via the Portlandia theme ('Feel It All Around'), and this video represented the moment…

Why it matters

A canonical artifact of the chillwave visual language, translating the genre's sonic hallmarks—warm haze, analog nostalgia, hypnotic repetition—into a coherent visual grammar. The video's co-direction by two distinct visual artists (Saccenti's futuristic photography aesthetic + Bibby's…

The director

Timothy Saccenti is a New York City-based director and photographer whose immersive, futuristic style blends analog lighting with 3D, holography, lasers, and generative digital art. His clients include Animal Collective, Run the Jewels, Depeche Mode,…