OLAF OLAFSONN AND THE BIG BAD TRIP invite fans to join a Rite in the Swamps

The unstoppable psychedelic colossus Olaf Olafsonn and the Big Bad Trip is releasing its new video for “Swamp Rite”, a song off their most recent studio album Selenopolis. This album marks the band’s departure from psychedelic rock and the start of their exploration of the murky waters of psychedelic dark folk, inspired e.g. by England’s Comus.

Directed by Laco Hlava, also the band’s bass player, the video introduces the story of a pilgrim figure on a journey towards a mysterious temple in the middle of a forsaken marshland city. In this part, the Pilgrim finds himself at the site of an uncanny ritual which he must take part in so as to make progress in his quest for knowledge. The video features the band’s long-term collaborators such as the painter Aneta Irma Lammrová starring as the High Priestess and Antonín Srp of Weird Visuals as the Pilgrim. The video was made in a DIY, or, more precisely, DIT (do-it-together) manner.

“The idea was initially Olaf’s. It was him who put together an amazing set design crew who did an incredible job so I basically came to a finished product. Directing the shooting was yet another great opportunity I’ve had with OOBBT. Our camera guy Adam brought along his friend Karel Kolařík, a professional cinematographer, who also helped me with the edit. And he wasn’t even all that scared of us,” laughs Laco Hlava, Swamp Rite’s director.

Creating the filming location of the swampland ritual site and bringing it to life was far from easy:
“The greatest challenge was to build a marshy woodland location basically as a stage set, with the stage being a small garden yard between Olaf’s house and the local elementary school building. Thanks to thorough preparations and hard work, we made it happen, though, and laid the foundations for some future projects,” says Mike Fitekr of Studio Mrtvý Svět (SMS), known e.g. from the Junktown festival, also speaking on behalf of another artistic collective Psycho’s Nest who took part in the making of the video.

OOBBT are known to have a penchant for releasing their work on symbolic dates, and the Swamp Rite is no exception. The premiere is planned to take place at 8 pm on the 2nd of January, that is on Candlemas, a traditional festival right in between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox, often associated with magic rituals. The video is released via the band’s YouTube channel and the entire Selenopolis is already available for streaming and purchase on Bandcamp and other streaming services.

https://bigbadtrip.bandcamp.com/