VIDEO PREMIERE: Kelly McFarling Basks in Graceful Choreography and Intimate Folk-pop in “Both”

San Francisco-based songwriter Kelly McFarling makes music reflective of transitions, the wilderness, and its navigation. Sometimes she plays banjo, other times acoustic guitar. Often, she plays a Telecaster fronting her band, The Home Team, featuring pedal steel (Tim Marcus), drums (Nick Cobbett), bass (Oscar Westesson), and various other Bay Area musicians.

During her ten years in San Francisco, McFarling has released five independent recordings: studio albums Distractible Child (2010) and Ridgeline (2013), an EP of cover songs, Others (2013), and two live albums, Live at Pirate Ship Laguna (2009) and Live at Eddie’s Attic (2011). She has toured behind her own projects as well as performing with bands like Y La Bamba and Goodnight Texas, and is one-third of the all-female folk trio Glittersnatch with Megan Keely and Wolf Larsen.

On June 16th McFarling released her latest album Water Dog, easily her most intimate and folk-leaning record to date. She recorded the album in seasonal segments of 2016. The songs were first demoed with Allen Rothschild in his bedroom in Asheville, NC, where the creaks of his wood floor and the sounds of summer winding down made their way onto the recordings through open windows and live takes.The demos became the foundation of the record, and McFarling took them back to San Francisco, where Avi Vinocur of Goodnight Texas produced and engineered the majority of the record at his home in the Sunset District.

Today Glide Magazine is premiering the music video for “Both”. The song has a dreamy quality with McFarling’s soft vocals and a gently plucked banjo to create a mellow folk-pop sound. Director Bridget Savage Cole and choreographer Amanda MaCleod create a powerful visual representation of the music with an otherworldly dance sequence performed by mysterious nude women. There is a beautiful gracefulness to both the song and the video that seems to embody everything about McFarling and her music.

Speaking on the making of the video, McFarling has this to say:

“This video was made with a crew of personal lady heroines romping around LA, holding mirrors in freezing ponds, hanging from trees, and adjusting palm fronds found on the street. It was a dream to work with this team of incredible women who each inspire me endlessly. The Director, Bridget Savage Cole, has such a specific lens that I’ve always loved, and has amazing artistry with physical movement. Her vision, with some incredible dancers and a badass team, captured both the intimate and bold nature of the song.”

WATCH:

Water Dog is out now. For more music and info visit kellymcfarling.com.

Photo credit: Danielle Krudy