Watch: Napoleon “Moonlight”

25 Mar 2014 — Ashley Canino

A moving collage of images from Brooklyn to Nevada, Napoleon's new video for "Moonlight" is a delectably DIY homage to parties, relationships and bison ranches. Edited--and filmed in part--by lead singer Julian Anderson's girlfriend Thea Cabreros, the footage comes in at just under six minutes and I wish I could sink into the track and its visuals even longer than that. The fast-paced scenes are tied together with a roughly sketched, opaque heart and flashes of color--somehow it's enough to pull together the many slices of life the band shares with us, whether giddy and alcohol soaked or pensive and subdued. The song itself features standout vocals and synths that capture a throwback vibe without feeling disingenuous--and how could it above such an honest visual element.

Here are Thea's words on how the video came together, because she tells it so well:

"The concept was conceived of on one of many random conversations [Julian and I] had on Facebook chat. I jokingly asked to be in the music video after hearing the song, but [Julian] took it to heart.  The details were hashed out a few days later on a Skype 'date' (which was the first time we had seen each other in seven years). 'Send me what ur seeing and I'll send you what i'm seeing,' 'I only have my iPhone!,' 'Me too, the consistency will be great.'"

We decided that we would take footage for one week. I happened to be driving across the country at the time. I began shooting in Texas, and went on to shoot in New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Nevada. One place it features that is of note is Zapata Bison Ranch in Mosca, Colorado where some friends of mine are ranchers.

[The video] was inspired by wanting to make sense of all the years, space, and disparate experiences [Julian and I] had since we last saw each other seven years ago. Despite the very different lives we had been living we had common a way of seeing the world and an inexplicable connection to one another."