Callicore (studio)

Last updated
Callicore
Industry CGI animation
Founded2000 (2000)
FounderLaurent Mercier
Headquarters,
Key people
Laurent Mercier (producer, director, CG artist), Anaelle Mercier (production assistant)
Website callicore.com

Callicore is a Paris-based studio which specializes in CGI animated music videos. Created by Laurent Mercier in 2000, the studio has produced videos for artists such as John Lee Hooker, Jr., The Buzzcocks, Cake, Marky Ramone, Carbon/Silicon and Arrested Development. [2] The studio was named a 2009 Webby Award honoree for its work on Hooker's video Blues Ain't Nothin' But a Pimp. [3]

Contents

Xavier Semen joined Callicore as a producer and lead animator in 2006. While the studio works primarily in animation, it also engages in music publishing. [2] Semen left the studio in 2014. He has been replaced by Marius Legrand, a CG artist who is now lead animator and a producer at Callicore Studio.

Anaelle Mercier joined Callicore as a producer and production assistant in 2015.

Cedric Bernard joined Callicore as lead animator, after that Marius Legrand left the studio in 2019.

History and style

Born in 1967, Laurent Mercier attended the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, and spent several years as an independent multimedia artist, organizing collective exhibitions, and analyzing the condition and status of artists in society. He also worked with the publishing firm, Association for the Development of Multimedia Literature. [4]

Irritated by what he perceived as the "stranglehold" of major media companies on the music industry and other creative industries, Mercier launched Callicore as a "resistance act" against the "cultural dictatorship of the media" by these large-scale companies. [4] Callicore controls all aspects of its projects, from pre-production to post-production, and retains a relatively independent and free nature. [2]

One of the first collaborations between Mercier and Xavier Semens, who joined Callicore in 2006, was the animated video for Phantom Rider, a song from the 2007 album, Hymn for the Hellbound, by the British psychobilly group The Meteors. That same year, Callicore produced an animated video for Sound of a Gun, by the British punk band The Buzzcocks (the initial video was considered too violent for broadcast television, and a second, less violent version was released). [2]

Callicore created the animated video for Blues Ain't Nothin' But a Pimp, a song from John Lee Hooker, Jr.'s Grammy Award-winning album, All Odds Against Me . [5] The video portrays Hooker as a comic book character, "Bluesman", who plays in clubs at night and cleans up the streets during the day. [6] The video was a Webby Award honoree in the Special FX/Motion Graphics category in 2009. [7] An image from the video was featured on the album's cover. [8]

In 2008, Callicore produced its first video for Carbon/Silicon, a band founded by Mick Jones, the former guitarist for The Clash, and bass player Tony James. In 2010, the studio produced the video for hip-hop group Arrested Development's Bloody, as well as for When We Were Angels by Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg, a project of former Ramones drummer, Marky Ramone. [2]

In 2011, Callicore created the video for Cake's Long Time, a track from the band's comeback album, Showroom of Compassion . [9] In an interview with Cake singer John McCrea, Mercier said the gloomy mood of the video, which follows the plight of a man and his monkey imprisoned in a dystopian world, was inspired directly by Cake's music, which reminds him of "melancholy things." [10] McCrea was impressed by the video's general movement and choreography, which he suggested are often lacking in music videos, and appreciated how Mercier perceived the non-humorous side of Cake's music. [10]

Callicore produced and directed videos for artists such as Brian Setzer, Lee Rocker, Eagle-Eye Cherry and Dr. Feelgood, from 2011 to 2013. The studio has continued its collaboration with John Lee Hooker, Jr., with several videos featuring the "Bluesman" character created for Blues Ain't Nothin' But a Pimp. [2]

Music videography

YearTitleArtist
2007Sound of a Gun The Buzzcocks
2007Phantom Rider The Meteors
2008I'm a Dead Cat Washington Dead Cats  [ fr ]
2008The News Carbon/Silicon
2008Mick Jones and Tony James on G-Rock RadioCarbon/Silicon
2008Blues Ain't Nothin' But a Pimp John Lee Hooker, Jr.
2009Stressed OutJohn Lee Hooker, Jr.
2009People Want a ChangeJohn Lee Hooker, Jr.
2009VixenPete & Charlie
2009What's Up Doc?Carbon/Silicon
2010Venus We Are the Fury
2010Extramarital AffairJohn Lee Hooker, Jr.
2010It's a ShameJohn Lee Hooker, Jr.
2010Bloody Arrested Development
2010When We Were Angels Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg
2010Never Stop the Hate TrainThe Meteors
2011Long Time Cake
2011Go-Go Godzilla Brian Setzer
2012Dear JohnJohn Lee Hooker, Jr.
2012He Wants ItClinic Rodeo
2012Rockabilly Boogie Lee Rocker
2013Go Simmer Down Eagle-Eye Cherry
2013Who Do You Love? Dr. Feelgood
2014Wild Child Lee Rocker
2014Gooooooo! Blues Power Band  [ fr ]
2015The Story of Reverend John Lee Hooker Jr John Lee Hooker Jr
2015Lottery Marky Ramone
2016I Want My Beer Marky Ramone
2016La Vie en Rose Iggy Pop
2016The Catfish Popa Chubby
2017That's Alright Mama/Blue Moon Lee Rocker
2017Don't Blame Me Marky Ramone
2018Illustrated Man Johnny Winter
2018Chaos Is My Life The Exploited
2018P*rn* Sl*t The Exploited
2019Cold Hearted Mama Paul Nelson

Video Game

YearTitleArtist
2019Marky Ramone The Game Marky Ramone

Related Research Articles

John Lee Hooker American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist

John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often incorporated other elements, including talking blues and early North Mississippi Hill country blues. He developed his own driving-rhythm boogie style, distinct from the 1930s–1940s piano-derived boogie-woogie. Hooker was ranked 35 in Rolling Stone's 2015 list of 100 greatest guitarists.

Cake (band) American rock band

Cake is an alternative rock / country and western band from Sacramento, California, consisting of singer John McCrea, trumpeter Vince DiFiore, guitarist Xan McCurdy, bassist Daniel McCallum, and drummer Todd Roper. The band has been noted for McCrea's sarcastic lyrics and deadpan vocals, and their wide-ranging musical influences, including norteño, country music, mariachi, rock, funk, folk music, and hip hop.

Marky Ramone American musician

Marc Steven Bell is an American drummer. He began playing in hard rock bands in the New York City area, notably Dust and Estus. He was asked to drum for punk rock band Richard Hell and the Voidoids. He replaced drummer Tommy Ramone in the Ramones in 1978, and went by the stage name Marky Ramone from then on. He has also drummed for a number of other punk rock and heavy metal bands, and with his own band Marky Ramone and the Intruders. He continues to keep the Ramones legacy alive around the world with his band Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg.

<i>1991: The Year Punk Broke</i> 1992 documentary film by Dave Markey

1991: The Year Punk Broke, released theatrically in 1992, is a documentary directed by Dave Markey, featuring American alternative rock band Sonic Youth on tour in Europe in 1991. While Sonic Youth is the focus of the documentary, the film also gives attention to Nirvana, Dinosaur Jr., Babes in Toyland, Gumball and The Ramones. Also featured in the film are Mark Arm, Dan Peters and Matt Lukin of Mudhoney, and roadie Joe Cole, who was murdered in a robbery three months after the tour ended. The film is dedicated to Cole.

Little Milton American blues singer and guitarist

James Milton Campbell Jr., better known as Little Milton, was an American blues singer and guitarist, best known for his number-one R&B single "We're Gonna Make It". His other hits include "Baby, I Love You", "Who's Cheating Who?", and "Grits Ain't Groceries ".

Charlie Musselwhite American blues musician

Charles Douglas Musselwhite is an American electric blues harmonica player and bandleader, one of the white bluesmen who came to prominence, along with Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, and Elvin Bishop, as a pivotal figure in helping to revive the Chicago Blues movement of the 1960s. He has often been identified as a "white bluesman". Musselwhite was reportedly the inspiration for Elwood Blues; the character played by Dan Aykroyd in the 1980 film, The Blues Brothers.

Carey Bell American blues musician

Carey Bell Harrington was an American blues musician who played harmonica in the Chicago blues style. Bell played harmonica and bass guitar for other blues musicians from the late 1950s to the early 1970s before embarking on a solo career. Besides his own albums, he recorded as an accompanist or duo artist with Earl Hooker, Robert Nighthawk, Lowell Fulson, Eddie Taylor, Louisiana Red and Jimmy Dawkins and was a frequent partner with his son, the guitarist Lurrie Bell. Blues Revue called Bell "one of Chicago's finest harpists." The Chicago Tribune said Bell was "a terrific talent in the tradition of Sonny Boy Williamson and Little Walter."

On the Road Again (Canned Heat song)

"On the Road Again" is a song recorded by the American blues-rock group Canned Heat in 1967. A driving blues-rock boogie, it was adapted from earlier blues songs and includes mid-1960s psychedelic rock elements. Unlike most of Canned Heat's songs from the period which were sung by Bob Hite, second guitarist and harmonica player Alan Wilson provides the distinctive falsetto vocal. "On the Road Again" first appeared on their second album, Boogie with Canned Heat, in January 1968; when an edited version was released as a single in April 1968, "On the Road Again" became Canned Heat's first record chart hit and one of their best-known songs.

<i>Original Folk Blues</i> 1967 compilation album by John Lee Hooker

Original Folk Blues is a compilation album by American bluesman John Lee Hooker, released in 1967. It mostly features songs that Hooker recorded for Bernard Besman in Detroit, Michigan, between 1948 and 1954 the were originally issued by Modern Records.

John Lee Hooker Jr. American blues musician (born 1952)

John Lee Hooker Jr. is an American blues musician. He is the son of influential blues singer John Lee Hooker (1912–2001). The younger Hooker's musical style is markedly modernized, featuring contemporary arrangements.

Dimples (song) 1956 song by John Lee Hooker

"Dimples" is a song written and recorded by blues singer-songwriter John Lee Hooker in 1956. It is an ensemble piece, with Hooker accompanied by Jimmy Reed's backup band. Eight years after its first release, it became Hooker's first record to appear in the British record charts. Called a "genuine Hooker classic" by music critic Bill Dahl, it is one of his best-known songs, with interpretations by several artists.

"R.A.M.O.N.E.S." is a song first recorded by the British rock band Motörhead on their 1991 album 1916 as a tribute to their friends and contemporaries, the Ramones.

"Crawling King Snake" is a blues song that has been recorded by numerous blues and other artists. It is believed to have originated as a Delta blues in the 1920s and be related to earlier songs, such as "Black Snake Blues" by Victoria Spivey and "Black Snake Moan" by Blind Lemon Jefferson.

Mark Radice American musician

Mark Radice is an American singer, musician, songwriter, and producer. Since the early 1970s he has worked with a variety of different artists while also achieving success with his own material. He is a multi-instrumentalist and is credited with writing more than 5,500 songs.

<i>Showroom of Compassion</i> 2011 studio album by Cake

Showroom of Compassion is the sixth full-length studio album from the band Cake, released on January 11, 2011. Produced by the band, it was the band's first studio album to be independently released. The musical style of Showroom of Compassion is grounded in the band's unique style of alternative rock, combining droll, often esoteric lyrics rife with word play and syncopation, catchy distorted guitar riffs, complex bass patterns, Moog and prominent use of trumpet. Cake's former lead guitarist, Greg Brown, makes a guest appearance on the song, "Bound Away", his first appearance on a Cake album since 1996's Fashion Nugget.

Ramones American punk rock band

The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving only limited commercial success initially, the band was highly influential in the United States, Argentina, Brazil and most of South America, as well as Europe, including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and Belgium.

Laurent Didier Mercier is a French artist, producer and director. He spent several years as an independent multimedia artist, organizing collective exhibitions, and analyzing the condition and status of artists in society. He worked with the publishing firm, Association for the Development of Multimedia Literature. He heads a production studio and 3D school in Paris.

<i>Simply the Truth</i> 1969 studio album by John Lee Hooker

Simply the Truth is an album by blues musician John Lee Hooker released by the BluesWay label in 1969.

<i>If You Miss Im...I Got Im</i> 1970 studio album by John Lee Hooker featuring Earl Hooker

If You Miss 'Im...I Got 'Im is an album by blues musician John Lee Hooker with his cousin Earl Hooker released by the BluesWay label in 1970.

Im in the Mood (John Lee Hooker song) 1951 single by John Lee Hooker

"I'm in the Mood" is a blues song written and originally performed by John Lee Hooker, and first recorded by him in 1951. The original recording is reportedly one of the highest-selling blues records of all time.

References

  1. French Association of Animation Cinema Archived 2013-06-19 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved: 8 November 2013. (in French)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Read More, Callico official website. Retrieved: 30 October 2013.
  3. "Bluesman John Lee Hooker, Jr. Continues to Garner Nods for 'All Odds Against Me' CD", African American News, DogonVillage.com. Retrieved: 31 October 2013.
  4. 1 2 "The Story," Callicore official website. Retrieved: 30 October 2013.
  5. Tamara Harris, "John Lee Hooker, Jr. Secures Grammy Nomination," Kickmag, 8 December 2008. Retrieved: 3 November 2013.
  6. "About John Lee Hooker, Jr. Archived 2013-11-09 at the Wayback Machine , Blues Underground Network. Retrieved: 3 November 2013.
  7. 13th Annual Webby Awards Gallery Archived 2013-11-09 at the Wayback Machine , 2009. Retrieved: 3 November 2013.
  8. "John Lee Hooker, Jr. Biography Archived 2013-09-24 at the Wayback Machine ", John Lee Hooker, Jr., official website. Retrieved: 3 November 2013.
  9. "Cake's 'Long Time' Tells the Story of a Man and his Monkey," Rolling Stone, 1 April 2011. Retrieved: 3 November 2013.
  10. 1 2 Laurent Mercier and John McCrea, interview, MTV, 2011.