The Hanging Stars
In the sun-drenched summer of 2017, I found myself in a lush back garden in East London, gearing up for my first creative venture with The Hanging Stars—a cosmic psych-Americana outfit known for their dreamy, folk-infused soundscapes. That golden afternoon, we set out to craft a music video for their upcoming single, Honey Water—a track brimming with hazy melodies and timeless allure.
What began as a one-off collaboration quickly evolved into an ongoing creative partnership. Since that first shoot, we've worked together on numerous video projects and photography sessions, capturing the essence of their signature blend of cosmic country and Laurel Canyon vibes.
With their albums and live performances earning glowing reviews for their ethereal beauty and rich, immersive sound, The Hanging Stars continue to enchant listeners with their psychedelic Americana. Our journey together is far from over, and I’m excited for the stories still waiting to be told through music and film.
2025 - Baby's Got The Blues
A New Friend on the Scene
In early spring 2025, I had the privilege of collaborating with legendary folk singer Bonnie Dobson and The Hanging Stars on their track “Baby’s Got The Blues.” The video, created to accompany the single and promote their summer album Dreams, became a visual celebration of timeless artistry and musical kinship.
Shot through prismatic lenses in the soft golden light of early spring, the film captures the warmth and spontaneity of their creative connection. Sunlight pours through the bay windows of Bonnie’s London apartment as the band brings the song to life — a heartfelt portrait of friendship, artistry, and the quiet magic of musical collaboration.
At 84, Bonnie’s voice remains as luminous as ever — pure, clear, and full of emotional depth. A defining figure of the 1960s folk revival and contemporary of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Judy Collins, she rose to prominence from the Greenwich Village scene with her haunting classic “Morning Dew.”
The release of “Baby’s Got The Blues” has been met with glowing reviews. Critics have praised its “tie-dye psychedelia” and the way Dobson’s voice — mature yet effortlessly strong — intertwines with The Hanging Stars’ cosmic Americana sound. Together, they’ve crafted something both nostalgic and refreshingly alive.
Later that summer, Uncut Magazine, The Times, and Sweden’s Sydsvenskan featured a selection of photographs from our shoot, taken in the serene setting of Bonnie’s garden — a fitting tribute to a remarkable artist and an unforgettable collaboration.
2023 - Radio On
Bringing Radio On to Life – A Psychedelic Studio Experiment
The music video for Radio On was born from a desire to unite The Hanging Stars in a dynamic studio setting—immersing them in a swirling, hypnotic world of liquid light and optical effects. With a vision rooted in creative improvisation, we set up an array of projectors and let the visuals evolve organically with each take, blending direction with spontaneous artistry.
A relaxed, whimsical track with a touch of Stones strut and a blissed-out Jonathan Richman vibe, Radio On pulses with Patrick Ralla’s rich keyboard textures and Paulie Cobra’s driving drums. To complement the song’s laid-back yet propulsive energy, we sought a visual approach that felt both fluid and unpredictable—like the music itself.
Our creative playground for the shoot was Karma Studios in Stoke Newington, North London. Before rolling the cameras, we carefully curated the lighting setup, working with two overhead projectors equipped with glass plates, inks, and oils to create mesmerising liquid light displays. Shooting from multiple angles, we captured frontman Richard Olsen performing against shifting waves of vivid colour, sometimes swapping the liquid plates for metal grids to produce striking moiré-style optical effects.
Once we had the lead shots locked in, we brought the entire band into the scene, drenching them in psychedelic visuals reminiscent of Andy Warhol’s Factory. The result? A raw, immersive, and distinctly different aesthetic from our previous location shoots—blurring the lines between performance and art in a truly hypnotic way.
A huge thank you to Joe Harvey-White for providing the Karma Studios space and working his magic with projectors, inks, and oils to bring this liquid light spectacle to life.
2022 - Black Light Night
The Hanging Stars – "Black Light Night"
A road-worn melody drifts through the open countryside as The Hanging Stars embark on a cinematic journey in their latest video for "Black Light Night."
Shot in a classic road movie style, the video follows the band as they leave the city behind, weaving through winding roads toward a hauntingly beautiful, desolate stretch of the Thames. Along the way, they pick up fellow travellers—each band member joining the ride, hitchhiking and thumbing lifts until they reach their final destination.
Set against a backdrop of abandoned industry, shipwrecked barges, and vast nature reserves, the video captures a dreamlike wanderlust, with the band roaming the wilderness, lost in the haze of dusk. The journey culminates in a stunning sunset moment, the river stretching endlessly before them—a quiet reflection of the song’s melancholic beauty.
With a look reminiscent of 1968 beat poet drifters, the band’s worn-in aesthetic mirrors the weathered earnestness of their sound. "Black Light Night" finds them balancing folk-tinged psychedelia with a dusting of pop, head-swum and longing in the darkness. The sepia-tinged visuals lend a timeless quality to the track, echoing the vintage warmth of the band’s sonic landscape.
2017 - Honey Water
The Hanging Stars – "Honey Water"
Our first production together, and one we’ll never forget.
It was a sun-drenched day, the perfect backdrop for The Hanging Stars to bring "Honey Water" to life. The shoot began in Richard Olsen’s back garden, where the band set up on the lawn, surrounded by trees, hedgerows, and glimpses of brick from neighbouring houses. In the blistering sunshine, we captured the performance across multiple takes, experimenting with a variety of lenses—fisheye, wide-angle, lens baby, and prism lenses—to craft a psychedelic visual feast that matched the song’s kaleidoscopic energy.
As the day unfolded, we moved to Chingford and the edges of Epping Forest, where the band took a surreal, dreamlike trip through the woods. Nature flourished around them as the doors of perception swung open, embracing the hazy, otherworldly spirit of the track.
The result? A music video that radiates warmth, vibrancy, and an unfiltered sense of fun—just like the day it was filmed.
"Honey Water", recorded in a single day, drifts through dreamy Americana landscapes and cosmic country-folk terrain. For most of its duration, it's a supremely chilled ode, laced with retro-pop sensibilities. But when the final moments hit, the sudden rush of intensity lands like a ton of bricks—a gut-punch coda that lingers long after the last note fades.
