Royal Canoe – “Bicycle” (video) (premiere)

Canadian indie poppers Royal Canoe released their latest album, Something Got Lost Between Here and the Orbit, just last week and the band’s new single is the catchy, groove-laden “Bicycle” that quickly establishes itself as a bonafide earworm. The tune is backed by this lovely new animated video created by Bill Acheson and Matea Radic. They’re going to tell us about how they made the video, but please be sure to check out the band’s huge list of tour dates below so you can catch them live.

Acheson tells PopMatters, “Royal Canoe first approached us with the idea of an animated lyric video with Matea illustrating and me designing the typography for the lyrics. They identified that it was written from a child’s perspective so we pitched back the idea of a children’s storybook theme with simple line drawings based on our interpretation of the lyrics and vibrant colours to sync with some of the branded elements from the album art.

“We started spitballing visual ideas line-by-line not knowing exactly how the process would go since this was our first collaboration, but we quickly developed a natural work flow and there ended up being a lot of overlap in our intended roles. Matea drew all of the frame-by-frame animation and I applied keyframe animation and integrated the type in After Effects. Some scenes we’re more pre-conceived than others with a lot of exploration and playing around on each side, followed by discussion to feel out what was fitting and flowing best with the varying feel of the story told through the track.

“Overall we’re happy with the finished product. It was awesome to work with like minded artists and we hope that it’s well received by their fans.”

TOUR DATES

09.23 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Hi Hat

09.24 – Davis, CA @ Sophia’s Thai Kitchen

09.25 – San Francisco, CA @ Brick & Mortar

09.28 – Portland, OR @ Holocene

09.29 – Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern

09.30 – Vancouver, BC @ Imperial

10.01 – Victoria, BC @ Lucky Bar

10.03 – Rossland, BC @ The Flying Steamshovel

10.05 – Calgary, AB @ Marquee Beer Market & Stage

10.06 – Red Deer, AB @ Bo’s Bar and Grill

10.07 – Edmonton, AB @ UP+DT Festival

10.08 – Saskatoon, SK @ The Capitol

10.18 – Kingston, ON @ The Mansion

10.19 – Quebec City, QC @ L’Anti

10.20 – Fredericton, NB @ Capital Complex

10.21 & 10.22 – Halifax, NS @ Halifax Pop Explosion

10.26 – St. Catharines, ON @ L3

10.27 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace

10.28 – Ottawa, ON @ Zaphod Beeblebrox

10.29 – Montreal, QC @ La Vitrola

10.30 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground Showcase Lounge

11.01 – Boston, MA @ Great Scott

11.02 – Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle

11.05 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge

11.07 – Columbus, OH @ Rumba Café

11.09 – Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen

11.11 – Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews

11.12 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry

01.25 – Hamburg, DE @ MS Stubnitz

01.26 – Hannover, DE @ Feinkostlampe

01.31 – Manchester, UK @ The Castle Hotel

02.01 – London, UK @ The Slaughtered Lamb

02.04 – Freiburg, DE @ The Great Räng Teng Teng

02.07 – Vienna, AT @ B 72

02.08 – Nuremberg, DE @ K4

02.09 – Dortmund, DE @ FZW

02.10 – Dresden, DE @ Beatpol

02.11 – Berlin, DE @ Berghain Kantine