Three-Day Series To Showcase Live Performances, Music Videos, and Psychedelic Short Films
Get ready to rock when the new virtual music event Rock Against PTSD holds its inaugural series featuring live indie band performances and music videos, and a sensational lineup of psychedelic short films from June 11-13, 2021. Presented by The Psychedelic Film and Music Festival, this event will bring awareness to the alternative treatments of post-traumatic stress disorder through personal stories and the benefits of vibrant sound and abstract imagery.
While learning of the challenges faced by individuals living with PTSD, organizers saw that music is often a driving force of strength and self-expression and wanted to establish a platform for messages of hope and positivity. “Music is a universal language,” said founder Daniel Abella. “It unites people and is a leading source of communication because it touches the soul and creates an environment for healing.” Audiences will listen to the lively sounds of hard rock, electronica, heavy psych, and psychedelic folk. “These genres elevate the human spirit,” said Abella. “Each song will help listeners reach deep within themselves to find their inner resilience.” Featured artists include Brooklyn Bonez, DAWN.w, Love Ghost, Miss Lava, and Urthona, all of whom will be on hand for in-depth conversations following the performances.
In many teachings there are four stages of enlightenment, and the schedule presents that concept in carefully curated themes. First is “Breaking Open Your Head,” a rejection of standard narratives that establishes the realization of all beings living within a real-life matrix. Next is “Sounds from the Aether,” where liberation awaits and follows the tracks laid out by the guides to the inner world. Then, “The Black Sun Emerges” as the final descent into darkness where one confronts the shadows of the soul. Finally, “Rise and Shine” produces the body of light and the resurrection into the transformation of one’s true self. In addition, a selection of short films rich in surrealistic images, saturated colors, and hyperreal dialogue will provide a vital glimpse into the psychedelic experience. “The films on our lineup offer important tools for healing because each embodies different points of view,” said Abella. “Psychedelic practices expand our awareness of life and we hope that everyone embraces new outlets of creativity and expression.” For full access to the event, visit https://www.psychedelicfilmandmusicfestival.com.
FRIDAY, JUNE 11, 2021 at 7:00PM EST
Theme: Breaking Open Your Head
Saturn (2021 Music Video)
Artist: Superflush
Director: Jimmy Prosser
Run Time/Country: 4 min, USA
Synopsis: Music video for “Saturn,” the second single by the California-based indie band Superflush.
Heads (2021 Music Video)
Artist: The Line aka Brian Dillon
Director: Alexander Kuribayashi
Run Time/Country: 4 min, UK
Synopsis: A horror story about a paranoid and bitter member of a Faculty’s Golf Society who yearns for acceptance but sabotages himself.
Holy Water (2020 Music Video)
Artist: Wakeself
Director: Noor-un-nisa Touchon
Run Time/Country: 4 min, USA
Synopsis: Holy Water is about a spiritual path to enlightenment, while facing inner demons along the way and allowing inner guidance to lead the journey. The song is from Wakeself’s posthumous album, “Ready To Live.”
20149 – Milano (2021 Music Video)
Artist: The Gibhertins
Run Time/Country: 4 min, Italy
Synopsis: The song is the first single taken from the band’s forthcoming concept album. It will feature one song for every decade of our fictional character’s life, from his birth (Intro) to his death (Outro).
Geneva Jacuzzi’s Casket (2021 Music Video)
Artist: Geneva Jacuzzi
Director: Chris Friend
Run Time/Country: 8 min, USA
Synopsis: Kate Shaw is massively frustrated. She has several shipments of experimental Emote Cartridges past due for delivery to the World Wellness Watch, the current one-world government. Kate is going to miss the deadline. Execution is likely.
Close-Up: An Odyssey (2021 Psychedelic Short)
Director: Nick Gatsby
Run Time/Country: 15 min, USA
Synopsis: Join Lucy (played by Skye Armenta) as she embarks on a spiritual journey to Mars in this psychedelic short full of excitement, mischief and music.
The Unorthodox Series (2020 Psychedelic Short)
Director: Laura Barbato
Run Time/Country: 17 min, USA
Synopsis: A one-of-a-kind, chilling yet symbolic storytelling adventure captured from the first-person point of view. In episode one “Castles In The Sky,” enter the mind of one of the most prolific, cold-blooded killers as he falls asleep while reclined in a barbershop chair. The 1920s have never looked as horrifying as when his subconscious reveals his deep contempt for others, his darkest vices, and deepest fears. In episode two “As You Are,” the year is 1991. Music, cigarettes, drugs, and depression — the rockstar life is certainly not for the weak. We will enter the mind of a beautifully tormented man, after a night of drug-induced shenanigans.
F*cking with a Robot (2020 Music Video)
Artist: DAWN.w
Director: Yann Giraoud
Run Time/Country: 7 min, France
Synopsis: Life is a countdown, till death. Will Bob see the end of it?
Miss Lava (Pre-Recorded Live Performance)
Songs:
“Brotherhood of Eternal Love” and “The Great Divide” from the album Doom Machine.
“I’m the Asteroid” from the album Sonic Debris.
Artists: Johnny Lee (vocals), J. Garcia (drums), K. Raffah (guitar), Ricardo Ferreira (bass/vocals)
Background: Miss Lava has brought their explosive presence to stages in the UK, Spain, and Germany, and played slots at festivals like Stoned From The Underground, Stonefest, Super Bock Super Rock, Rock In Rio Lisboa, Reverence Valada, Vagos Open Air, Barroselas Metal Fest, and Faro Bike Meeting in their home country. In addition to having traveled to play an exclusive one-off at the legendary Whisky a Go-Go in Los Angeles, the band has shared stages with Queens Of The Stone Age, Graveyard, Ufomammut, Greenleaf, W.A.S.P., Kyuss Lives!, Fu Manchu, Valient Thorr, Entombed, Truckfighters, and many more. The band hopes to return to stages in 2021 to showcase that audio crush that is Doom Machine.
SATURDAY, JUNE 12, 2021 at 2:00PM EST
Theme: Sounds from the Aether
Motorik Innervisions (2021 Music Video)
Artist/Director: Pierre Ajavon
Run Time/Country: 9 min, France
Synopsis: Driven by a Motorik rhythm, the electronic sounds of the Moog modular synthesizer take us to the heart of inner visions.
Multiply (2020 Music Video)
Artist: David Rosen
Director: Tobias Steiner
Run Time/Country: 4 min, USA
Synopsis: Multiply is the first music video from David Rosen’s upcoming self-titled album. It was created by visual artist Tobias Steiner and is a beautiful abstract experience that perfectly captures the pulsating music.
Otonashi (2021 Animated Short)
Director: Martin Gerigk
Run Time/Country: 10 min, Germany
Synopsis: “Painted in silence, a sparrow’s dream invokes timeless harmonies. In the heart of the universal geometry, the seed of calm is formed.” Otonashi is a philosophical voyage through inner and outer experiences of the human existence – an audiovisual meditation of futuristic transmutations about the Japanese Hannya Shingyō.
Spacetime Is My Playground (2019 Music Video)
Artist: Jay Richardson
Director: Luke Naylor-Perrott
Run Time/Country: 7 min, USA
Synopsis: Spacetime Is My Playground is a dancelike dreamscape in which gravity is suspended and where a sense of childlike wonder gradually wins out over the visual orientation of the viewer.
Solaris (2020 Music Video)
Artist: Alan J. Bound
Run Time/Country: 6 min, USA
Synopsis: Movie music respectively inspired by a book of Stanisław Lem. A StarCraft approaching a planet gets stopped and visions of loved ones come alive and appear as real. Track Solaris is part of the Alan J. Bound album “Deep Space.”
She Is So Lovely (2015 Music Video)
Artists: Liam Gray (vocals), Dave Tabar (keys/guitar), Wil Jackson (sitar/bass)
Run Time/Country: 4 min, UK
Synopsis: Released by Blackpool Records, this music video is a tribute to late ’60’s psych-rock films such as Candy, Yellow Submarine, and Easy Rider.
End of Confusion (202 Music Video)
Artist: Second Coming
Run Time/Country: 5 min, USA
Synopsis: End of Confusion deals with finding hope during ecological collapse.
The Gibhertins (Pre-Recorded Live Performance)
Songs: “20149 – Milano”
Artists: Alessio Hofmann (vocals/acoustic guitar), Lorenzo Rivabella (electric guitar), Lorenzo Di Blasi (keys), Marco “Marva” Vaghi (drums), Luca Losio (bass guitar)
Background: A Milan-based indie band that contains all the members’ contradictions of completely different musical backgrounds. This song is the first single taken from the band’s forthcoming concept album. It will feature one song for every decade of our fictional character’s life, from his birth (Intro) to his death (Outro).
Blue Velvet Blues (2021 Music Video)
Artist: Acid Mothers Temple and The Melting Paraiso UFO
Director: Odd Magnus Grimeland
Run Time/Country: 24 min, Norway
Synopsis: Blue Velvet Blues is a documentation of the old and abandoned sanatorium at Harastølen in Western Norway, with music from the psychedelic Japanese band Acid Mothers Temple and The Melting Paraiso UFO. A montage of stills and film tells the story of the decaying mountain sanatorium in a visual reflection that fits the music’s suggestive melancholy. The work is a part of the ongoing and infinite project Acid Mothers Temple meets VISUALISTA.
Sideview (2021 Psychedelic Short)
Director: Tosh Leykum
Run Time/Country: 10 min, Germany
Synopsis: The actress Kaori Matsuo enters into different dream worlds. It is a journey into her own interior. No straightforward view, it is a side glance of unexplainable, irritating, psychedelic worlds in which dreams mingle. In between, Kaori awakens and is visibly confused. A dove always appears in her dreams. It reveals open what Kaori connects with the pigeon. It could indicate a childhood experience with a desire to fly. In the end, she travels to space as a pilot of a cogeneration plant. A dream from which she awakens happily. Music is elemental in the movie.
Brooklyn Bonez (Pre-Recorded Live Performance)
Songs: “Hopi Wisdom”
Artists: Dakota Day (lead vocals), Myztico Campo (guitar/lyrics), Anthony Sepulveda (bass/vox/lyrics), TJ “ThunderKat” Griffin (drums), Rick Music Man Rivera (percussion)
Background: Brooklyn Bonez was founded in 2017 by Dakota Day, Myztico Campo and Anthony Sepulveda when they began crafting original psychedelic soul compositions to forge a live set of their brand of sonic storytelling. Drummer, TJ Griffin became an Ally during April 2019. Rick MusicMan Rivera added to the mix with his arsenal of world music percussion during June 2019. Brooklyn Bonez is now in studio sessions preparing for the release of their 2nd EP for release in late July 2021.
Urthona (Pre-Recorded Live Performance)
Songs: “An Improvisation” and “Sun And Moon So Heavy”
Artists: Neil Mortimer (guitar), Mark O Pilkington (electronics)
Background: Southwest England’s noise rock underground legends Urthona features Neil Mortimer on guitar, joined by long-time collaborator Mark O Pilkington on electronics. Their music is a quaking sonic monolith, crackling with piezo-electric energy, which will shake the ground, light up the sky, and send your ancestors scrambling to barricade the doors in the hall of the dead.
Theme: The Black Sun Emerges
We Are the New Chimeras (2020 Documentary)
Director: Mathias Averty
Run Time/Country: 50 min, France
Synopsis: To celebrate the coming summer and say goodbye to the dark days of winter, they leave their cities in droves to worship forgotten gods in the heart of Brittany. This documentary recounts the last edition of the “Feux de Beltane” (Beltane Fire Festival), a secret celebration meant for Black Metal fans, through a portrait of six festival-goers.
DAWN.w (Pre-Recorded Live Performance)
Songs:
“F*cking with a Robot” (released)
“Rectifier” (unreleased)
“Drugs to Forget About Drugs” (unreleased)
“Vanilla Fuzz” (unreleased)
Artists: Giulio Valente (vocals/guitar), Timothée Poggi (drums), Kieran Wendeler Klownking (guitar), Léo Zrehen (bass)
Background: What is DAWN.w? Simple, it’s a brand of dishwashing liquid owned by Procter & Gamble. But it’s also us, four regular humans that a series of unfortunate events led to meet and bond. We like making noise together. We like when people listen to our noise. We like it even more when people enjoy our noise.
Love Ghost (Pre-Recorded Live Performance)
Songs:
“Fade Away” (released)
“I’ll Be Fine” (released)
“Cocoon” (unreleased)
“Closure” (released)
Artists: Finnegan Bell (lead vocals/guitar), Ryan Stevens (bass/backing vocals), Daniel Alcala (guitar/engineer/backing vocals), Samson Young (drums/backing vocals), Cory Batchler (keys/engineer/backing vocals)
Background: Crawl into space between ethereal grunge and lo-fi bedroom hip-hop punctuated by emotional delivery and airy hooks. The band has been featured on official playlists on Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud, and Pandora. They were featured on the alternative radio charts for two months in 2020 and have toured Ireland, Japan and Ecuador.
Miss Lava (Pre-Recorded Live Performance)
Songs:
“Brotherhood of Eternal Love” and “The Great Divide” from the album Doom Machine.
“I’m the Asteroid” from the album Sonic Debris.
Artists: Johnny Lee (vocals), J. Garcia (drums), K. Raffah (guitar), Ricardo Ferreira (bass/vocals)
Background: Miss Lava has brought their explosive presence to stages in the UK, Spain, and Germany, and played slots at festivals like Stoned From The Underground, Stonefest, Super Bock Super Rock, Rock In Rio Lisboa, Reverence Valada, Vagos Open Air, Barroselas Metal Fest, and Faro Bike Meeting in their home country. In addition to having traveled to play an exclusive one-off at the legendary Whisky a Go-Go in Los Angeles, the band has shared stages with Queens Of The Stone Age, Graveyard, Ufomammut, Greenleaf, W.A.S.P., Kyuss Lives!, Fu Manchu, Valient Thorr, Entombed, Truckfighters, and many more. The band hopes to return to stages in 2021 to showcase that audio crush that is Doom Machine.
SUNDAY, JUNE 13, 2021 at 2:00PM EST
Theme: Rise and Shine
This Is How It Feels Like (2021 Music Video)
Artist/Director: Matt Dahl/Drunk Girl Crush
Run Time/Country: 4 min, USA
Synopsis: Upbeat dream pop/electronica dance music married to a quirky, animated video.
Tequila Acid Party (2021 Music Video)
Artist/Director: Liesbeth Eeckman, Joel Rabijns
Run Time/Country: 4 min, Belgium
Synopsis: A group of bored roommates are drawn towards a wild acid techno party across the street. The lines between peer pressure and cautionary advice keep getting blurrier with every shot of tequila.
Aurora (2021 Music Video)
Artist: OLGA Vocal Ensemble
Director: James Baramy
Run Time/Country: 3 min, France
Synopsis: An experimental rotoscoped animation.
1000 Kings (2019 Psychedelic Feature)
Director: Bidzina Kanchaveli
Producer: Pierre Durst
Run Time/Country: 90 min, Germany
Synopsis: One thousand people live encaged in an immense room, with no possibility to escape. A petrol similar black fluid helps them to grow a huge amount of batteries. Some of them can be used to produce light. Apparently, only one of the inhabitants has the ability to recognize the proper batteries. For this, he is admired and at the same time exploited, until he makes a fatal decision. Then, a virus spreads and their world collapses.
Unusual (2021 Psychedelic Short)
Director: Quentin Lestienne
Run Time/Country: 3 min, France
Synopsis: Insolite is a character shut in a room. He’s looking to escape from his daily life.
Dance of the Veils (2020 Music Video)
Artist: John T. Trautman
Run Time/Country: 27 min, USA
Synopsis: Dance of the Veils is a mashup of the song of the same title by Vold Book with an edited version of the 1923 public domain silent film “Salome.”
Shine the Light (2019 Music Video)
Artist: Brooklyn Bonez
Run Time/Country: 5 min, USA
Synopsis: A song from the album “Trinity Rising.”
Urthona (Pre-Recorded Live Performance)
Songs: “An Improvisation” and “Sun And Moon So Heavy”
Artists: Neil Mortimer (guitar), Mark O Pilkington (electronics)
Background: Southwest England’s noise rock underground legends Urthona features Neil Mortimer on guitar, joined by long-time collaborator Mark O Pilkington on electronics. Their music is a quaking sonic monolith, crackling with piezo-electric energy, which will shake the ground, light up the sky, and send your ancestors scrambling to barricade the doors in the hall of the dead.
DAWN.w (Pre-Recorded Live Performance)
Songs:
“F*cking with a Robot” (released)
“Rectifier” (unreleased)
“Drugs to Forget About Drugs” (unreleased)
“Vanilla Fuzz” (unreleased)
Artists: Giulio Valente (vocals/guitar), Timothée Poggi (drums), Kieran Wendeler Klownking (guitar), Léo Zrehen (bass)
Background: What is DAWN.w? Simple, it’s a brand of dishwashing liquid owned by Procter & Gamble. But it’s also us, four regular humans that a series of unfortunate events led to meet and bond. We like making noise together. We like when people listen to our noise. We like it even more when people enjoy our noise.
Miss Lava (Pre-Recorded Live Performance)
Songs:
“Brotherhood of Eternal Love” and “The Great Divide” from the album Doom Machine.
“I’m the Asteroid” from the album Sonic Debris.
Artists: Johnny Lee (vocals), J. Garcia (drums), K. Raffah (guitar), Ricardo Ferreira (bass/vocals)
Background: Miss Lava has brought their explosive presence to stages in the UK, Spain, and Germany, and played slots at festivals like Stoned From The Underground, Stonefest, Super Bock Super Rock, Rock In Rio Lisboa, Reverence Valada, Vagos Open Air, Barroselas Metal Fest, and Faro Bike Meeting in their home country. In addition to having traveled to play an exclusive one-off at the legendary Whisky a Go-Go in Los Angeles, the band has shared stages with Queens Of The Stone Age, Graveyard, Ufomammut, Greenleaf, W.A.S.P., Kyuss Lives!, Fu Manchu, Valient Thorr, Entombed, Truckfighters, and many more. The band hopes to return to stages in 2021 to showcase that audio crush that is Doom Machine.
Love Ghost (Pre-Recorded Live Performance)
Songs:
“Fade Away” (released)
“I’ll Be Fine” (released)
“Cocoon” (unreleased)
“Closure” (released)
Artists: Finnegan Bell (lead vocals/guitar), Ryan Stevens (bass/backing vocals), Daniel Alcala (guitar/engineer/backing vocals), Samson Young (drums/backing vocals), Cory Batchler (keys/engineer/backing vocals)
Background: Crawl into space between ethereal grunge and lo-fi bedroom hip-hop punctuated by emotional delivery and airy hooks. The band has been featured on official playlists on Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud, and Pandora. They were featured on the alternative radio charts for two months in 2020 and have toured Ireland, Japan and Ecuador.
Event Access and Virtual Passes:
Visit https://www.psychedelicfilmandmusicfestival.com for details on virtual passes to performances and screenings. Access to videos on demand will be made available at midnight following original airings, and remain online for seven days.
About The Psychedelic Film and Music Festival:
The Psychedelic Film and Music Festival explores the altered states of consciousness and psychedelia created by film, music, art and other forms of media. Showcasing independent feature and short films, documentaries, music videos, live performances, and panels with distinguished guests, the festival pushes the boundaries of psychedelic and noetic realities to give audiences a unique and visceral experience.
Connect with Us:
Website: https://www.psychedelicfilmandmusicfestival.com