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Grouper - I Saw a Ray

Music Video
ArtistGrouper

Wiki

Synopsis

The video unfolds as a disjointed nocturnal chase. A woman identified in the credits as The Pursued moves through dim, dreamlike spaces while a mysterious figure appears to follow or intercept her. Faces, bodies, corridors, outdoor textures and abrupt flashes are assembled with a deliberately unstable sense of time and place. Rather than offering a literal narrative, the clip turns the song's murky drone into an atmosphere of dread, vulnerability and half-remembered images. Its abrupt transitions make the viewer feel trapped inside an anxious, fragmenting dream.

Factoids & Trivia

  • "I Saw a Ray" appeared on the Dream Loss half of Grouper's 2011 double release A I A.
  • The video was first presented as part of an intended album-length series inspired by A I A. It was later identified as a shortened version of Arkansas, an approximately 11-minute film.
  • The clip became part of The Perception of Moving Targets, a four-part film anthology built around Grouper's music. The feature received an official selection at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.
  • Liz Harris contributed the opening samples and later provided music for the larger film project, combining previously released Grouper material with new recordings.
  • The video credits Wyatt Garfield as director of photography, Erin Staub as art director, Cherie Blackfeather as The Pursued and Tom Wood as The Figure.
  • Harris and the filmmaker developed the larger project through an exchange of music and image fragments rather than a conventional screenplay. Harris later performed a live score for screenings of the anthology.
  • The clip was circulating online by June 17, 2011, when it was described as an evocative and jarringly edited piece rather than a conventional narrative music video.
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