Music
How Danny MacAskill picks the music for his videos
The street trials rider explains how he selects songs for his incredible videos. “You’re always looking for that perfect track…”
Music a big part of what motivates me to ride every day
It should come as no surprise that Danny is a huge music fan with full creative control over his videos. He spoke to us about how he selects the tunes that go into his films, how to sequence tricks to music, and his secret ideas folder.
Watch Wee Day Out below
6 min
Danny MacAskill's Wee Day Out
Want to see what Danny MacAskill does on his day off? "Wee Day Out" explores the rural landscape around Edinburgh in a film that sets out to capture the simple fun of a ride in the country.
Music plays a huge part in the videos that we make. I’m often the big driver of the music, because it’s a big part of what motivates me to ride every day and it helps me come up with idea. Everything I listen to, whether it’s on the radio or searching through Spotify or whatever platforms you use. Everything I listen to, I’m imagining what sort of video would fit this, what sort of setting. Tunes have got obvious ways in which you’d edit [footage] to it – where you would put the riding, where the big tricks go, where the small ones go.
Often, when you’ve got an idea of a concept, you’re always looking for that perfect track. Even when the one that’s very obvious is sat in front of you, I’m the kind of person who thinks something better is around the next corner. If you’re lucky you’ve found it before you start rolling the cameras – that’s the best way to do it and you start building the video while you’re out there. On the other hand, you can actually end up with your footage and I’ll still be searching through the catalogues, still trying to get permission to use certain tracks – it can be very difficult, and very frustrating.
Watch a clip from Danny MacAskill's Imaginate below.
1 min
MacAskill's Imaginate Flip Sequence
Sequences of tricks from Danny MacAskill's Imaginate project.
Wee Day Out morphed a little bit. I think the original tune I wanted to do involved Kim Wilde’s Chequered Love, but that would be a very different video. It kind of morphed into a bit more of a jolly ride around the countryside on your bike.
I’m quite protective of my lists on Spotify, because each one could represent an idea or potential. Not everything I listen to, but if I look through my ideas folder I have 836 random songs and there won’t be two from the same artist in there. When I’m thinking of a new idea, I go through these playlists and maybe something fits that I’ve already listened to or it gives you some direction to go in.
A good editor will edit all the landings on the beats and the cuts
When it comes to editing, I don’t come up with the riding ideas to go with the music. There are a couple of things when you listen to the music and you try to time it, but it’s more that you play the riding with the emotion of the song. A good editor will edit all the landings on the beats and the cuts.
Something that I’d love to do is work with an artist that I really like and approach them about making a piece of original music and I can make the music video. There are folk that I’ve listened to when riding for years – The Chemical Brothers, UNKLE… a video along those lines would be amazing.
See more of Danny in the Red Bull TV documentary, Kings Of Content, out April 10
Check out more great premieres, stories and videos at RedBull.com/Music
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