Aquilo have cultivated a global following which has taken them in excess of 250 million streams, but their current single ‘Out In LA’ is their best moment to date – an expansive hybrid of dreamy, mid ’70s Beach Boys harmonies and the modern psychedelic swirl of Tame Impala. Now the song’s profile is set to be boosted as Aquilo share its highly imaginative new video.
Directed by Blake Temple (Niall Horan, Mabel), the ‘Out In LA’ video expands the song’s lyrical reflection of the duo’s struggles while in Los Angeles. Working with a family of model makers, they constructed an intricately detailed model village of their hometown of Silverdale which they’re using as a visual representation of their upcoming third album, set to be released later this year via AWAL.
In this case, we see Tom Higham and Ben Fletcher working on the model like a pair of omnipresent Gods who tower over the village. Piece by piece, they drop some sun-kissed LA elements (palm trees, the 101 Diner) into Silverdale’s gorgeously quaint village vibe. Gradually, however, they realise that Silverdale is perfect as it is and instead revert it back to how it was. It’s a visual metaphor for the feeling that wherever you are in the world, there’s no place quite like home.
Aquilo commented, “The concept behind the creative and music videos to follow date back a year or so now. We built a model village of Silverdale, where we both grew up, based on our memories and experiences. The song is about that particular trip to LA being unsuccessful and us coming back with literally nothing.
The 101 Diner referenced in the song (and recreated in the model village) was a diner in Hollywood we used to visit every morning before we went to the studio and it became a special place for us. The model village (Silverdale) represents our safe place and happy memories, and the 101 Diner represents our frustrations at that time. It feels crazy to actually see it all in place now and having a conceptual model village of our memories come to life!”
Aquilo had previously introduced the model village with the sweeping close-ups that feature in the song’s lyric video.
After the huge success of their first two albums ‘Silhouettes’ and ‘ii’, the duo returned home after the Los Angeles trip, and decided to put Aquilo indefinitely on ice. They hooked up with producer Jack Sibley (Pedestrian, North Downs, Maribou State) and let their creativity flow, just as they had done back when they first started. It was an epiphany, and the start of what they thought was a brand new project together. Yet in time, they came to realise that the combination of Tom’s vocals andBen’s instrumentation couldn’t be anyone else. Aquilo had instead been reborn, broader in scope, stately in scale, and simply a level above anything they had created before.
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