Over the years, there continue to be varying definitions of what progressive music means, always existing a second opinion. It seems to us that White Walls represents one of those bands who are always trying something new and stretching their boundaries as artists. With earlier releases like ‘Mad Man Circus’, ‘Escape Artist’ or the single ‘Death Follows Me’, the band now releases their most ‘risky’ single and album. I’m glad to see they returned in business and that their approach is quite different, as one expected. The years go by, and the experience somehow places its mark into the band’s expression. The upcoming album, however, is expected to be one of their best releases and a breathtaking group of songs that bridge their metal influences with a melancholic atmosphere. But until their album will be release, we’ll discuss further on ‘Starfish Crown’.

“It wasn’t easy at all to choose the singles, nor difficult to agree on ‘Starfish Crown’ being the first one to release. We couldn’t take our minds off of it from the moment it was created, so it had to be the first song from the album to be shared. “

If you are paying enough attention, White Walls is breaking the limits right from the start, with such an impressive video and a song so simple in production, yet so captivating in its structure and performance. With ‘Starfish Crown’ the band puts on display what they were reaching for, namely a majestic glimpse into how to put emotions into song within a progressive context. Punctually, ‘Starfish Crown’ is correct as sound, composition and vibe, but it feels complicated in places for the Romanian ‘rock requirements’, so to speak. The voice, thus, becomes an element that firmly fits into the classical expressions of progressive music, which we encountered in Opeth or Leprous. I’ll leave the rest of quality manners to your discussion, but all in all you’ll realize and actually feel from the first seconds that you are dealing with a quality production, sound, instrumentation, image or arrangement.

‘Starfish Crown’ is accompanied by a cinematic music video directed by Iustin Şurpănelu and the actor Șerban Pavlu in the leading role. Being familiar with Iustin’s work, we know that through everything he touches he unwittingly makes a new call on art. Looking at the powerful video, he depicts the atmosphere and background of the song contained within.

“We had quite a system on choosing the video director (a system that involved watching MANY Romanian videos) and at the end of the process, the unanimous decision was to work with Iustin. After several meetings where we conceptualized what we wanted from the video, we had to contact our favorite Romanian actor, namely Șerban Pavlu. To our surprise and enormous joy, he agreed and together with Alina Petrică, they both did an exceptional job under Iustin’s lens.“

‘Starfish Crown’ is surely a song that most fans will dive into with one idea in mind, but come out thinking something completely different about. It takes time for you to assimilate such powerful lyrics and music video, but it will be worth it. This is what a restart should look like: fresh and enchanting.

Starring: Șerban Pavlu, Alina Petrică & White Walls
Directed by Iustin Șurpănelu
1st Assistant Director: Roxana Șurpănelu
Special effects make-up: Dana Angelescu
Costumes: Dana Anghel
1st AC: Mircea Tranca
2nd AC/Gimbal: Vlad Lăpădătescu
Video: Csok Balint
Cinematographer/Camera/Edit/Grading: Iustin Șurpănelu
Gear rental: Stay Sharp (StaySharp.film)
Production Sound Supervisor: Alexandru Zglimbea
Additional Post Sound: Bogdan Moroșanu (SoundDesign.ro)
Extras: Adriana & Ilie Radu, Bianca-Maria Oneț, George-Daniel Bükkösi, Mihnea Ioan Grecu, Alexandru Zglimbea, Csok Balint
Executive Producer and Lifeline: Mihnea Ioan Grecu

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