REIGNS – “The Diagram” Music Video

This black and white for Reigns’ “The Diagram” is a classy one. For the single from their upcoming album, The Widow Blades, they expertly bathe the entire video in blacks using minimalistic compositions and heavy strobing. Given the careful planning that no doubt went into every shot, the appeal of this video lies more in the relationship between the audio and the visuals from shot to shot, than in any cohesive storyline or message. Best of all, even though there is not very much going on, the video encourages one’s constant attentiveness.

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW

To shed some light about the album’s actual content, though, is a snippet from their press release: “Whilst growing up in the country Reigns, Operatives A & B, from an early age, became aware of the bizarre yet inconclusive fate of a woman from a neighbouring village. It took some years (and a great deal of wading through a seemingly endless stream of local conjecture) for them to ascertain that the woman in question was Millicent Blades: a middle-aged widow who had disappeared during the blizzard of 1978, vanishing somewhere between the villages of Tup’s Fold and Tone Gulley. Nothing was found of her save a set of interrupted footprints and a pile of clothes – all turned inside out. The intervening years have provided much in the way of outlandish theories pertaining to her disappearance but very little in the way of answers. In a possibly futile attempt to reverse this situation and still haunted by the stories they heard as children, Operatives A & B went back to the area to document her final journey across the countryside.”

Made by Toshadeva Palani.

Album released 24 October 2011 on Monotreme Records on CD, digital and limited vinyl (250 copies, double gatefold 180 gm on white vinyl with black splatter – includes a free CD of the album plus a numbered, hand-printed A5 lino cut made by the band).

Read our review of The Widow Blades.

Written by
Vee Hua 華婷婷

Vee Hua 華婷婷 (they/them) is a writer, filmmaker, and organizer with semi-nomadic tendencies. Much of their work unifies their metaphysical interests with their belief that art can positively transform the self and society. They are the Editor-in-Chief of REDEFINE, Interim Managing Editor of South Seattle Emerald, and Co-Chair of the Seattle Arts Commission. They also previously served as the Executive Director of the interdisciplinary community hub, Northwest Film Forum, where they played a key role in making the space more welcoming and accessible for diverse audiences.

Vee has two narrative short films. Searching Skies (2017) touches on Syrian refugee resettlement in the United States; with it, they helped co-organize The Seventh Art Stand, a national film and civil rights discussion series against Islamophobia. Reckless Spirits (2022) is a metaphysical, multi-lingual POC buddy comedy for a bleak new era, in anticipation of a feature-length project.

Vee is passionate about cultural space, the environment, and finding ways to covertly and overtly disrupt oppressive structures. They also regularly share observational human stories through their storytelling newsletter, RAMBLIN’ WITH VEE!, and are pursuing a Master’s in Tribal Resource and Environmental Stewardship under the Native American Studies Department at the University of Minnesota.

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