MAXIMO PARK I GET HIGH (NO I DON’T)

Company Artistic Director, Robby Graham, choreographed and starred in the video for Maximo Park’s single ‘Get High (No I Don’t)’.

Maximo Park’s single from their album ‘Risk To Exist’ is a another barbed, yet danceable, salvo and deals with how the likes of Nigel Farage hammer poisonous ideas into the heart of mainstream politics. It’s a perfect encapsulation of ‘Risk to Exist’, combining keen intelligence, emotional conviction and visceral energy. The song is unveiled with an equally kinetic video, directed by James & James and featuring a breathtaking performance from dancer and choreographer Robby Graham. The video, shot in a stripped back Dogma style, tells the story of Graham’s protagonist gradually unravelling as he goes through his draining daily routine, before spectacularly imploding in a violent finale.

Maximo Park frontman Paul Smith says: “The song is about resistance in the face of repetition and coercion. The video reflects that theme and the frantic groove of the music as the dancing protagonist reaches breaking point.”

Video Directors James & James say: “It took about thirty minutes from hearing Get High (No I Don’t) to having worked up the simple creative of a person rebelling against the strictures of society – all choreographed – starting off on point, with and on the beat of normality, and then, increasingly, getting out of sync / control – finishing with him tearing the set down. The creative didn’t change at all after that.”

Produced & Directed by James & James
Choreographer – Robby Graham
DoP – Joshua C. Fry
Art Director –  Angel Parmar
Gaffer – Matti Moka
Steadicam Operator – Lawrence Gallagher
Focus Puller – Sam Riley
1st AC – Agatha Lee
Data Wrangler – Alauric Lau
Lead Dancer – Robby Graham
Dancers – Amy Thiroff, Jodie Honeybourne, Robert Emile, Nico Migliorati