Paul Noonan accompanied by Brian Crosby
Long-time friends and musicians Paul Noonan and Brian Crosby have released an evocative new song titled My Bones a Scaffold. A striking music video to accompany the song marks the directorial debut of acclaimed photographer Rich Gilligan.
Credit:Johnny Mallin
The track was born from a series of unexpected creative dialogues between the three artists.
Originally an instrumental piano piece on Crosby’s debut
solo piano record Imbrium, Noonan heard the track and felt drawn to respond to it lyrically – and a sort of musical conversation began. As Noonan says:
“Having shared a lot of formative music making experiences with Brian from our schooldays through the birth and first 10 years of Bell X1, it’s been a sweetness to make something together again. I loved his piano record Imbrium from a couple of years back and kept hearing singing (in me head!) on a few songs. I found the music so visually evocative, and the track A Strong Tide of Liberty had me escaping underwater, to dream it all up again.”
Crosby and Noonan first met in school, where they formed first the band Juniper (with Damien Rice) and subsequently BellX1. Both musicians have gone on to have eclectic and varied musical careers – Noonan with BellX1 as well as solo projects Printer Clips and HousePlants (with the electronic musician Daithí), and Crosby as a collaborator on numerous film and TV scores as well as his own solo piano work. This is their first collaboration since Brian left BellX1 16 years ago.
On coming full circle to work on a musical project together again Crosby says:
“For me, the story of how this song came into being is one of the importance of human connection and collaboration. Imbrium was a collection of piano tunes I wrote in response to the stillness and isolation of the first Pandemic lockdown in 2020. It was, then, such an unexpected and touching surprise when Paul sent me a voice note with a recording of lyrics to one of the Imbrium tracks. To know that he had connected with the music and was inspired to respond to it was a really beautiful moment for me.”
The creative conversation did not stop there. The track, with its suspended, aquatic feel, called out for a visual dimension. Noonan had always found the photography of Rich Gilligan (whose work has been published in publications such as iD, T Magazine, The New York Times, Vogue, Port Magazine, Source & Time) to be very thoughtful and affecting, and often suggestive of the moving image, so he sent him the song to see how it landed. What emerged was an unexpected resonance for the photographer at a difficult time in his life. Gilligan says:
“We had chatted about working on something together a few years back but for a number of reasons it just didn't happen, so when Paul reached out again earlier this year and I re-read the lyrics accompanying Brian's incredible song it caught me completely off guard - like all great art should. I had recently just lost a close friend who tragically passed away while swimming at sea. I was 100% in a state of shock, or as I once read somewhere, I was in grief-land. This song, with its clear connection to water and another world felt like some strange serendipitous way to honour the passing of my friend and in turn it gave me somewhere to focus the grief and pain that was surrounding me.”
The resulting video is a beautifully textured and evocative piece, innovatively shot inside a car wash (an idea Gilligan says he stole from his wife!). Gilligan worked with cinematographer Albert Hooi to create a heightened hypnotic and claustrophobic atmosphere, a state which Gilligan hopes ‘could potentially evoke a feeling of transcendence and ultimately be representative of something much bigger than the act itself.’
The emotional responses and creative conversations that have emerged from this project have been impactful for all involved, as Noonan says:
“The fact that the song resonated with something that Rich was holding at the time has given the whole caper a synergy that has been really moving.”
Stream: https://found.ee/my-bones-a-scaffold
Video Credits:
Director: Rich Gilligan
Cinematographer: Albert Hooi
Editor: Ronan Fox
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Credit: Rich Gilligan
The resulting video is a beautifully textured and evocative piece, innovatively shot inside a car wash (an idea Gilligan says he stole from his wife!). Gilligan worked with cinematographer Albert Hooi to create a heightened hypnotic and claustrophobic atmosphere, a state which Gilligan hopes ‘could potentially evoke a feeling of transcendence and ultimately be representative of something much bigger than the act itself.’
The emotional responses and creative conversations that have emerged from this project have been impactful for all involved, as Noonan says:
“The fact that the song resonated with something that Rich was holding at the time has given the whole caper a synergy that has been really moving.”
Stream: https://found.ee/my-bones-a-scaffold
Video Credits:
Director: Rich Gilligan
Cinematographer: Albert Hooi
Editor: Ronan Fox
The emotional responses and creative conversations that have emerged from this project have been impactful for all involved, as Noonan says:
“The fact that the song resonated with something that Rich was holding at the time has given the whole caper a synergy that has been really moving.”
Stream: https://found.ee/my-bones-a-scaffold
Video Credits:
Director: Rich Gilligan
Cinematographer: Albert Hooi
Editor: Ronan Fox
Credit: Rich Gilligan