Between Nightfall and Noise, Peet Masséo and the Search for Harmony in Rocker on a Club Run
Montreal does not sit still in the world of Hey Gorgeous, it moves with intention, carrying stories across its streets like echoes that refuse to fade. At the center of this motion is Rocker on a Club Run, a music video released alongside the launch of International Breakthroughs, the forthcoming debut album from the project led by visual artist and musician Peet Massé. Framed as a restless twenty four hour drift through bars, nightclubs, and art galleries, the video follows a fictional version of Massé as he moves through a city that feels less like a backdrop and more like a psychological map in constant revision.
The main character of the video seems lost in a city whose atmosphere he does not recognize completely. However, despite his lack of confidence, his journey through Montreal continues, and it includes a wide range of places. Sometimes the hero comes to a room where the air pulsates with sounds of rock music. At other times he goes to the opposite direction, finding himself somewhere among houses of Montreal's nightclubs.
The music video Rocker on a Club Run contains oppositions which give rise to numerous questions, including the problem that lies in its center. This music video, created by Peet Massé, is full of contrasts, and at the same time, they cannot be easily divided and defined. The main characters perceives rock and house as completely different worlds, each of which is linked with his identity. However, moving around Montreal, he finds out that they can peacefully coexist and develop simultaneously in one personality.
This video is a great example of the concept of Hey Gorgeous project which can be characterized by such features as musical travel and introspective journey. Music is a part of geography for this artist because it allows him to move through different places, while his songs and albums can be perceived as locations on some map, both imaginary and real. Every song of Peet Massé reflects his thoughts, memories and feelings, and each song makes a trip to a new place.
Within this context, Rocker on a Club Run becomes a story of duality, of two sides of the artist's personality. In order to be able to create, one should understand what emotions he wants to transmit through the song, and how to do it. Therefore, this music video is not only about nightlife and the main hero who tries to find his place in Montreal's cultural spaces. This video tells us about duality of artist's identity and attempts to reconcile different musical genres.
There are many possible ways of interaction between music and identity, and it is very interesting to watch how the main hero of the video experiences each of them. Bars are connected with excitement and energy, galleries with contemplation and stillness, and night clubs make the listeners forget about their problems and merge into rhythm. Thus, Rocker on a Club Run is filled with possibilities, but the question of identity remains open.
In addition to the conceptual basis, this music video contains a subtle emotional thread which allows interpreting it in different ways. Traveling in another city is often connected with discoveries, which include the artist's own discoveries about himself. This video represents the idea that travel can be considered not just as an opportunity to change a place, but as a journey to yourself. Therefore, Hey Gorgeous presents victories and defeats which were acquired thanks to this journey.
In order to create this music video, Peet Massé used a number of approaches that he developed in his previous work. For example, being an artist as well as a musician, he combines visual images and sound in an inseparable whole, creating something unusual and impressive. Moreover, Rocker on a Club Run is not just a music video, because it is also filled with thoughts and reflections about music.
The journey through Montreal's nightlife spaces seems to never end because the hero of the video constantly goes back to the same places in order to find there the answer to the question about the identity. However, no matter how long the trip lasts, he keeps moving and never stops. This video raises many questions and invites the viewer to think about them, asking if the worlds of rock and house music can coexist in one personality.
Since the forthcoming release of the album International Breakthroughs opens the history of Hey Gorgeous to everyone, Rocker on a Club Run plays a crucial role in the life of the project. This video suggests that Hey Gorgeous will be more interested in developing the story of an artist than in presenting it in the traditional form.
