Created at 180 Studios XR space at 180 The Strand, Actual Objects draw inspiration from Holy Motors and Under The Skin in a sci-fi horror thrill ride starring Martyna Maja, the artist known as VTSS.
‘Notoriously Fast’ is the latest excursion from producer VTSS into hell-for-leather, techno pop territory, arriving as the last of four emotive, vocal-led tracks that make up her debut EP for Ninja Tune, Circulus Vitiosus. With each cut from the project exploring a different side to the multi-faceted character that is VTSS, ‘Notoriously Fast’ finds the artist at terminal velocity, barrelling into the depths of her own speed freak nature without pausing for breath. Working in collaboration with former Fact Residents Actual Objects for the track’s visual, the artist born Martyna Maja is cast as both esoteric alien biker and the sinister sea siren in the pursuit of which the biker races, a nocturnal chase that sees the roles of hunter and prey becoming indistinct from one another. Drawing inspiration from Leos Carax’s modern classic Holy Motors and Jonathan Glazer’s astonishing Under The Skin, Case Miller, Claire and Rick Farin seamlessly blend live footage, CGI and A.I.-assisted imaging to create a high-speed fever dream steeped in sci-fi horror and visceral surrealism.
“The whole process was fast; it was a fast-forming friendship between the three of us, a fast collaboration that came together in just a few weeks, and the video features me riding a motorcycle, so it’s very on brand with the ‘fast’ narrative,” explains Maja. Filmed using the XR Stage at 180 Studios, ‘Notoriously Fast’ makes use of pre-configured virtual environments, against which physical effects can be captured, often imperceptibly. “Sometimes we like to remind people of how we transform environments and certain spaces by leaving in something that breaks down the illusion and shows our process,” says Claire Farin. “For example, in the ‘Notoriously Fast ‘video, the XR stage we used at the studio ended up being far more realistic than we ever imagined, so we left in a shot where Martyna and the background don’t sync up and it’s obvious she’s not physically and literally riding a motorcycle along a motorway tunnel.”
“With this video, we really tried to play around and blur the lines between what’s real, where things were shot and how things were made,” continues Rick. “We want people to question where things are taking place; is this a liminal space? Is it all CGI? It’s about the push and pull between nature and technology and how they’re not always so separate. It’s all kind of merged together, which is something we do with all our projects.” Seeking to collapse distinctions between the technological and the natural, in ‘Notoriously Fast’, Actual Objects constantly blur the digital and the physical together, as though the sheer speed at which this facet of Maya’s character moves enables her to shift between states, from hunted to hunter, from NPC to avatar, from Martyna Maya to VTSS.
‘Notoriously Fast’ is taken from Circulus Vitiosus, which is out now on Ninja Tune. You can find VTSS on Instagram.
For more information about Actual Objects and their work, find them on Instagram or at their website and check out their Fact Residency. Interview by Claire Mouchemore.
Notoriously Fast Credits:
Creative Direction – Actual Objects
Director – Rick & Claire Farin
Producer – Isabel Levin
Art Direction – Case Miller
Styling – Peri Rosenzweig
Make up Artist – Echo Seireeni
Motorcycle – Sam Denniston & Adam Faires
Management – Modern Matters
Filmed at the XR stage at 180 Studios
Supported by Fact
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