VIDEO: Mobley Premieres Exclusive, Behind-the-Scenes Video for 'James Crow' Music Video

Today, Mobley releases an exclusive behind-the-scenes of the making of the music video for his recent single, "James Crow."

Watch the video!

"This is Mobley's latest track, a powerful song centred around his experiences with racial injustice living as an African American in the Southern United States," said V13. "[The behind-the-scenes is] an interesting and fully transparent look into an artist's creative process and how the clip for 'James Crow' fits into a larger film and narrative that will continue with the release of Mobley's brand new EP, 'Young & Dying in the Occident Supreme' in February, via Last Gang Records."

The "James Crow" music video picks up where the video for lead single "Nobody's Favourite" left off, with Mobley and his heroine escaping the surreal prison of a creepy mansion. In "James Crow," a ragtag crew pulls off a heist on a trio of powerful villains. The high-wire-act depicted on the screen mirrored the controlled chaos behind the camera, as the technically impressive video was shot in a single, continuous take. Both videos are part of a film directed by Mobley spanning every track of "Young & Dying in the Occident Supreme," to be released alongside the EP on Feb. 19, 2021.

Says Mobley in his director's commentary, "I was really insistent that we do it in one take because I wanted to capture that energy and immediacy that comes from a one-take shoot." While the continuous take is just under three minutes long, it took almost an entire day of shooting to pull off.

Describing how an actor had to sprint around a corner to hit his mark on time, Mobley notes, "Everybody on this shoot, no matter how small and simple their role may seem to have been-you have to remember that we were shooting this all day, and if anybody messed up any single part of it during the entire course of the video, we had to stop and start over. So the pressure was just incredible."

The behind-the-scenes video ends with Mobley inviting the audience to (virtually) head over with him to Watertrade + Otoko at South Congress Hotel in Austin, Texas, the bar and restaurant where the official music video was shot. There, in a second video, Mobley works with Watertrade's general manager Billy Weston to create a custom cocktail inspired by the music video, aptly named the "Bartender's Hand-Off," to allude to a pivotal scene. They share the recipe for viewers to recreate the cocktail at home (also offering a spirits-free version), or those in Austin can opt to order one via the bar's cocktail-to-go program during the pandemic.

"James Crow" was released on Sept. 16 with a premiere in PopMatters. The song was featured on SiriusXM's Alt Nation specialty program, Advance Placement. A live video of the single premiered with American Songwriter on Dec. 8. To stream "James Crow" and Mobley's previously released music or for more information on Mobley, including details about his upcoming virtual tour for charity, visit www.mobleywho.com.

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