WL//WH Premiere: MICHAEL ZODOROZNY’s DIY Animated Man vs Machine “Likely Story”

WL//WH Premiere MICHAEL ZODOROZNY

Michael Zodorozny, the New York post-punk legend, painter, visual artist, and animator, best known as a founding member of Philadelphia-based synth-punk band Crash Course in Science, unveils a new video, WL//WH is pleased to premiere, directed, painted, and animated by Michael Zodorozny himself, with the help of co-director, co-animater, and compositor Robert Powers, for “Likely Story”, the second single taken from his sophomore solo studio album, “Test Pilot”, released last November, via the Rotterdam, Netherlands independent label Electronic Emergencies.

On “Test Pilot”, produced by Matia Simovich aka INHALT, he continues to explore his personal and poetic interpretation of the post-punk, new wave and no wave sound. Homemade and self-invented instruments complete his specific, extraordinary style that leans towards EBM and thrusting electro.

LP artwork by Michael Zodorozny

The color palette was chosen to evoke older industry. A man runs as the world landscape evolves around him, and a mysterious cylindrical force begins to exert itself. The lyrics speak of signage, caution, and eventually compromise. The visual story is presented in a way that allows for personal interpretation. The music was written to convey an urgency along with contemplation.

Combining color and symbolism into a metaphysical guide for the human experience, “Likely Story” thumps its way along a vibrant mechanical foundation of steady rattling programmed beats and sneakingly gurgling bass grooves, punctuated by syncopated jagged synth strains, and twisted buzzing spirals layered with washes of swirling arcade effects and crunchy echoes, to engulf terse, breathy vocals, giving helpful advice about letting go, distractions, and putting the practice in.

A storyboard of pencil sketches was created for each scene according to the cues in the music track. The artwork for each sequence was hand-painted in watercolor on paper. These elements were then scanned into Photoshop and assembled. The Photoshop files were composited in After Effects with the live action footage. The live action was shot with an iPhone 14 on an automatic, rotating turntable, which tracked with the live action subject who ran in a circle. This kept the running of the subject looking more natural and grounded. The gear and digital backgrounds were then matched to the speed of the live action.

The paired video for “Likely Story,” directed, painted, and animated by Michael Zodorozny himself, and co-directed, co-animated, and composited by Robert Powers, is a wonderfully imaginative DIY piece of multi-media artwork that helps to illustrate the content of the soundtrack. Michael Z runs on the edge of a mechanical cog with a color wheel on top of it, whilst wheels within wheels of spinning lyrical imagery construct a moving 3D environment. ‘Panned’ out views show the electrical energy, right side up and inverted flows, and the colour of transmission that make up the whole cosmic mechanism. The upper setting is urban, industrial, nocturnal, and full of thought-provoking shapes and suggestions, whilst the underworld is a dark, glassy, reflective sea where unconscious triggers and mindful connections take hold.

Michael Zodorozny‘s second solo album, “Test Pilot”, is out now, Vinyl 12″/CD & Digital, via Electronic Emergencies.

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