The loss of his grandmother and the spotting of a blue-gleaming star led to the initial idea for Sammy Volkov‘s latest single “Blue Star”. The young singer-songwriter from Edmonton, Alberta has a voice that brings Roy Orbison to mind, and the music arrangements he constructs have elements of classic Brill Building songwriting, with dashes of Brian Wilson. It makes for a timeless sound, and one that could be visualized in a number of more serious, performance-based ways.
Instead, for the visual for his new single, Volkov toned back on the performance, with only moments of him laying back in a bed of flowers while singing present. Instead, the video utilizes tasteful bits of animation along superimposing the lyrics I a chalk-style handwriting to add a playfulness to the jaunty track. In the second half, Volkov has more fun, recording pieces of footage of himself dancing, running in circles, and being mischievous, and then speeding those up for zany effect.
It’s not what you would expect for such a classic-sounding song, but that’s part of the appeal. Watch the video above, and stream the song here.