It’s still dark when singer-songwriter Alexa Jesse arrives at Ocean Beach, San Francisco for the 6AM video shoot with Host Bodies. Their first single together, “Hourglass,” features Alexa gracing a psychedelic dance track built on the live-electronic duo’s swaggering basslines, atmospheric synths, and idiosyncratic drums. Alexa’s lyric, “What will we find at the edge of the night?” seems posed against the beach as surf booms and a breeze carries drifts of sand over the empty Great Highway.
Director and bassist, Nick Hess, reviews the storyboard with the cameraman while producer, James Collector, prepares to drive his vintage camper van onto the dunes for the opening shot. The day looks clear, a well-timed window between winter storms. Timing has everything to do with Hourglass. After a shared 2020 gig was cancelled by shelter-in-place, Alexa Jesse and Host Bodies started exchanging musical ideas. Hourglass surfaced soon after, a smoky demo that has since evolved into a polished groove mastered by Count Eldridge (Tycho, DJ Shadow, Radiohead).
As color creeps into the sky, Alexa steps onto the sand. The music is cued. The camera brings her into focus. By the end of the day, she’ll be dancing barefoot in the waves under a fiery sunset-until then, there is only this present moment and the next, grains falling one by one.
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Shot on location in San Francisco at Ocean Beach, Pacific Coast Highway, Golden Gate Park and Lands End.
CREDITS
Director: Nick Hess
Edit + Color: Nick Hess
Cinematography: Jeffrey Carroll
Cinematography: Michael Miller
Vocals: Alexa Jesse
Bass guitar: Nick Hess
Keyboards: James Collector
Hair + Makeup: Morgan AnderSEN (sorry Mo!)
Hair + Makeup: Phoenix Ha
Production Assistant: Jaya Drohan
Best Girl: Chubbers