Playlist: Maxi Blanco
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This week we chat to Landia director Maxi Blanco, who talks us through some poetic, political, and cinematic music videos plus his love for Phil Collins.
What’s the best music video you’ve seen recently and why?
Milo J - Bajo De La Piel.
A performance by the artists themselves, it's sublime, real.
Credits
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- Production Company The Movement By Landia
- Director Teresa Carril
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Credits
View on- Production Company The Movement By Landia
- Director Teresa Carril
- Colorist David Castanon
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Credits
powered by- Production Company The Movement By Landia
- Director Teresa Carril
- Colorist David Castanon
What’s the first music video you remember being impressed by?
Michael Jackson - Beat It. It’s the first one I remember watching and feeling completely pulled into. It wasn’t just a performance piece, it had drama, movement, tension, and a strong visual identity.
Even then, it felt cinematic to me, like the song had found a whole new dimension through images. That impact stayed with me.
Credits
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- Production Company Giraldi
- Director Bob Giraldi
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Credits
View on- Production Company Giraldi
- Director Bob Giraldi
- Record Label Epic/Sony
- Artist
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Credits
powered by- Production Company Giraldi
- Director Bob Giraldi
- Record Label Epic/Sony
- Artist
And what’s your all-time favourite music video?
Janet Jackson - Got Til It's Gone, directed by Mark Romanek. It’s my all-time favourite because it’s a perfect example of a music video that creates a complete universe. The visual language, the emotional tone, the cultural weight, the restraint — everything is so precise and evocative.
It proves that a music video can be poetic, political, and cinematic all at once.
Credits
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- Production Company Satellite Films
- Director Mark Romanek
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Credits
View on- Production Company Satellite Films
- Director Mark Romanek
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Credits
powered by- Production Company Satellite Films
- Director Mark Romanek
What other directors/artists do you look to for inspiration?
Anton Corbijn, Mark Romanek, and Jonathan Glazer.
What are you listening to at the moment?
John Martyn, Talk Talk, Hermanos Gutiérrez, y siempre (and always) Bill Evans.
What’s your favourite bit of tech, whether for professional or personal use?
My brain.
What artist(s) would you most like to work with and why?
Dreaming? Nick Cave.
How do you feel the promo industry has changed since you started in it?
It has become faster, cheaper, and far less rigorous. There is more content than ever, but less time, less care, and often less ambition behind it. The craft has been devalued in many parts of the process, and what used to feel like a real creative collaboration now often feels more disposable and rushed. There are still great people and great opportunities in the industry, but overall, I think the standard has dropped, which has changed the experience quite a bit.
Where do you see the music video industry being in five years’ time?
More disposable content on one side, fewer real pieces on the other. The barrier to making images will keep dropping, so vision and taste will matter more than ever. The future is not more videos, it’s fewer that actually mean something.
Tell us one thing about yourself that most people won’t know…
I love Phil Collins.
