Lewis Del Mar Reflects on Memories and Experiences in Emotional Deconstruction of Album

SMUGGLER director rubberband.’s latest short film 'August' is a twelve minute visual deconstruction of Lewis Del Mar's album of the same name, created in collaboration with lead singer Danny Miller. The film functions as the liner notes to LDM’s life throughout the making of their latest album, 'August'.

After the childhood friends spent years on the road their relationship frayed when they returned home. Years of turbulence distilled into fifteen songs. The film explores family, brotherhood, the emptiness of success, death, forgiveness, the artistic process, and pursuing your passions at all costs.

Ripe with visual metaphors, both overt and more elliptical, rubberband. employs their trademark mixed media approach, utilising distinct film stocks, home video footage and various aspect ratios to underscore themes and further develop character and story. The intention with this piece was to make something impressionistic and challenging, something that uniquely blended real-life archival footage and re-creations of memories and places that shaped their lives and their journey as a band. Losing a father, nearly going bankrupt, soul searching and reconciliation between the two musicians who are forever bonded by their love of music and impossibly dense history.

The short is experimental and impressionistic, restless and fragmentary, letting go of linear narrative for something that rejects classification. It offers small and important pieces of information but allows the viewer to connect the dots. It’s an expressive film made by a directing duo about two musicians, drawing parallels in their lives and process in front of and behind the camera. But most of all, it’s an attempt to translate an album into visual form, and hopefully, to translate those feelings onto the screen.

“It’s a twelve minute visual deconstruction of their album, a portrait of all of the memories and experiences that led to and comprise the substance of the album." commented rubberband. "The intention with this piece was to make something impressionistic and challenging, something that uniquely blended real-life archival footage and re-creations of times and places that shaped their lives and their journey as a band. Losing a father, nearly going bankrupt, soul searching. It’s all in there. I think we were able to capture something unique and left of centre in a way we haven’t before.