Drew O'Neill

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Milky Chance "Cocoon" (Davis Silis, dir.)

Davis Sillis, director: "We think of cocoons as a source of comfort and protection. Where we can isolate ourselves from the dangers of the outside world. But I wanted to explore another side of what can happen when we isolate ourselves so much, we become capable of doing the unimaginable. Using classic fairytale tropes, the idea was to create a video that felt like a visual antithesis to the music, densely packed with metaphor."

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Declan McKenna "Bethlehem" (John Merizalde, dir.)

The troubles of young, forbidden love could be a typical tale, which is why director John Merizalde sets the action in a town under the spell of an unusual cult.

John Merizalde, director: "When I first listened to the track, I was reminded of a small rural town in Georgia called Bethlehem, about an hour away from where I grew up. That, coupled with the themes behind the track — basically a critique against religiously motivated violence and hate — were the initial catalyst for theidea. The use of 16mm film and slow zooms were incorporated to hopefully give it a more old-school feel.

And no, I never attended a snake church growing up... Although I do know some people that did."

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Mali Music f/ Jhene Aiko "Contradiction" (Davis Silis, dir.)

Mali Music has shared a sweet new video for "Contradiction," one of his contributions to the ChiRaq The Movie soundtrack. Directed by Davis Silis, the warm video shines a spotlight on the Georgia singer and his collaborator Jhene Aiko. The pair sway gently with a glowing dance club's pretty crowd while singing about the ups and downs of love. As well as creating a reminder of everyone lost in violence not just in Chicago, but all over the world.

David Silis, director: "The insurmountable loss Chicago has experienced over the years for many people only came into perspective when compared to America’s losses in Iraq, a war more publicised, and certainly longer-running than any other.

I grew up not far from Chicago, so when this project came around, working with the supremely talented Mali Music, Jhené Aiko, and the team behind Spike Lee’s film ‘Chi-Raq’, the soundtrack on which ‘Contradiction’ features, it felt quite personal. Especially when only a few weeks after we finished filming, my own hometown suffered a mass shooting.

What we wanted to create was a video that reinforced the story of ‘Chi-Raq,’ but also had its own message. Both a celebration of community, and a lament of its destruction. Or in other words, a contradiction. That while life does go on, we shall never forget those who were lost."