HeCTA have shared a music video for “The Concept,” the first from the Nashville project’s debut album The Diet. The track is inspired by a 78RPM record that group member Kurt Wagner bought in his youth featuring New York comic legend Buddy Hackett; HeCTA reinvents Buddy’s classic stand-up routine as an amazing tribute to him. The Nerdist premiered the video on their website today, along with a Q&A with the electronic outfit.

Director Chris Shepherd delved back into the annals of animation history for the video, explaining: “When I was a kid, my mum wouldn’t let me go out much as it was so crazy where I grew up. I used to watch a lot of old TV. I had one tape of black-and-white Popeye cartoons that I’d watch over and over. I’ve always been really inspired by thirties animation, as there’s no rules and it’s completely surreal. Real-life objects would come to life and start doing crazy stuff.” 

The music video’s black-and-white presentation is at odds with our super vivid technological age. How did Chris deal with these limitations? “I loved them. I wanted to make something that felt like it was found in a car boot sale. A scratched and messed-up delight. I added scratches, tape jumps, and old-school telecine weave. I started my career working on 35mm, and it took me right back there.”

Also, listen to “Till Someone Gets Hurt” from The Diet and pre-order the album on CD and LP in the Merge store, or digitally via iTunes. HeCTA has only a few announced dates, so be sure to catch them if they play near you!

HeCTA performances:
Aug 15 Bochum, DE – Ritournelle at Ruhrtriennale
Sep 11 Raleigh, NC – Hopscotch Music Festival
Sep 18 Nashville, TN – Grimey’s