Sofa Rockers

Each beat has its own speed, each tempo suggests certain images: Timo Novotny´s video for Richard Dorfmeister´s Sofa Surfers remix, which was shot in Japan on Super-8 film, begins with an aerial view of a construction site and a crane. As the bass begins softly, the images start to move up along a vertical line, apparently reflecting the path of an elevator. Everything is transparent, everything is structured: The scaffolding is echoed in the picture´s frame, which rolls across the screen in a way similar to a poor film projection, offsetting the illusion of movement. Or the images accentuate the music through superimpositions, short zooms and shots through cloudy glass.
A small model of the Statue of Liberty then briefly disorients the viewer, and the vertical movement becomes horizontal, moving from Tokyo to Kyoto: Analogously to the laid-back drum´n´bass, the images then begin a relaxed and aimless journey through Japan´s urban spaces. In this phase, the two elements almost unite - in smooth parallel movement.

Near the end, the rhythm materializes in the human body. Three kids breakdance, then others dance in a city park. While this is not an arrival at a certain destination, it is definitely more than a chance meeting. The escalators at a large train station continue to run mechanically, and the space does not come to rest until the music has faded away.

(Dominik Kamalzadeh)


sofa rockers starts at a giant constructionplace of tokyo and follows a familier pattern and storyline, while he zooms through the skyline to isolated parkscenes with dancers. on the same hand he destroys the easy flow with picturejumpcuts and pans. the music is supporting the visual habits and is giving you a complete view from the filmmakers eye of tokyo. the musicvideo works out fine although the use of oldfashioned super8 and no digital effects.

(Timo Novotny)