Austin Crane is Valley Maker, a singer songwriter hailing from Seattle, USA. During a mini tour in the UK supporting Novo Amor, we managed to pin him down for a quick chat and a pretty special performance of Cain and Abel. The idea was to create a short insight into Austin’s world. Told through a blend of documentary and live performance footage, we wanted to uncover the man behind the moniker.
It’s not often that you get to film with an artist that you’ve been a fan of for years—suffice to say that Josh was definitely holding back the fan girl within. Having spent a week on tour with Novo Amor, we saw the chance to make a film about the talented sod we came to call our new friend.
It was early in the morning on a weekday in the heart of Manchester. We’d lugged ourselves over to where Austin and the Novo Amor gang had been camping out—in this incredible shared art space and… hostel?…possibly? Either way, it was like an art studio and creative hub with lots of people living there…weird, but kinda cool.
Nothing excites us like an impromptu live session, and as opportunists, when we see a chance to capture something unique, we jump at it. We dragged Austin out of bed, shoved his guitar in his hand and went on the hunt for a quiet spot for him to perform a song for us. Of course, we chose to shoot it in a single take—we didn’t really have much time for anything more! Austin chose Cain & Abel as the song to tie it all together—an early song of his and one that has rarely been heard live. A truly stunning moment. Afterwards, we had a sit down conversation to really get to know him.
This serves as a great example of how seizing the opportunity can result in something special, something unexpected and unique. What we ended up with is an intimate and rather individual little film made with artist that’s inspired us over the years. What more could you ask for.
