Playlist: Michael Holyk

What’s the best music video you’ve seen recently and why?

Haya Waseem’s promo for Sam Smith - Love Is A Stillness is thoughtful and gentle. 

I’m a sucker for these types of videos. Attentively shot and the grade is beautiful, with great framing and poignant imagery.

What’s the first music video you remember being impressed by?

It’s funny how time changes everything! For this interview I started looking at videos that were, for me, game changing and in fact, they are shit. 

The handful of good ones that I can remember include the video from DJ Fresh - Gold Dust. I was doing a lot of touring at that part of my career, in and out of clubs and festivals hustling with artists and DJs. I saw it and I was like ‘this is amazing and I’d love to have a crack at this at some point’. I was also watching Emil Nava’s work like a hawk too. His first promo with Ed Sheeran I loved. Gave me the bug to try and get into making videos.

And what’s your all-time favourite music video?

Daniel Wolfe's promo for Paulo Nutini - Iron Sky, or Justice - Stress. 

Both absolute masterpieces. It’s the type of work I'd love to get my hands on. They nail it.

What other directors/artists do you look to for inspiration?

Recently I've been enjoying Tony Ray-Jones’ work. Others to note, Don McCulin, Vivian Maier, Todd Hido, Saul Leiter. 

Film-wise the last couple of movies that had an impact on me were Anora, Kneecap and The Substance all for various reasons. Inspiration-wise, I've been digging deep into my Nottingham roots recently.

What are you listening to at the moment?

I can’t answer this, I listen to absolutely everything. A few tunes that pop into my head are Ghetts x Sampha Double Standards. A lot of drum and bass, and to juxtapose, I’ve also been going down the rabbit hole of listening to Tchaikovsky recently.

What’s your favourite bit of tech, whether for professional or personal use?

Fujifilm X100 lives in my bag. Such a sick little camera.