In what could be either the most confrontational or hilarious video of the year, Jack Ladder willingly endures intense but creative punishment from British model, musician and writer Alys Hale in ‘Tell It Like It Is’, the fourth video taken from the Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders album Blue Poles, out now.
The video was directed and shot by acclaimed and exhibited photographer McLean Stephenson. Stephenson isn’t worried about how it will be received. “I don’t think this video is transgressive…” Sexuality isn’t a theme he consciously sets to explore. “I am, however, interested in human vulnerability and ambiguity”.
The video comes just after Ladder completed his ‘20 Golden Greats’ solo tour, performing songs from his five albums catalogue. “I was doing a retrospective show trying to make sense of my life and how I came to this point. Itʼs hard to ignore that a huge part of my work is devoted to sado-masochistic themes and self destructive behaviour. A lot of my songs are about being controlled and breaking free from control. Either sexual or substance. This could be the video Iʼve been moving towards for years.”
As for the bongo solos that intersperse the punishment? “The last 20 years has been unkind to them”, says Stephenson.“They have been marked as deeply uncool. I wanted to do something about that. And look, I’m not scared to admit it, I’m a bongo guy”.
Listen / purchase Blue Poles: https://jack-ladder.lnk.to/BluePoles
