Produced and Directed by Taylor Steele
Filmed by Kai Neville and Ivan Tanjung
Edited by Kai Neville
A Poor Specimen Production Available through Koastal Media

OK so I think I just said somewhere I’m not the biggest fan of Hack-A-Froth music videos, and, as I now put a Huge disclaimer on that recent statement, you can’t call that I changed my tune bcause I’m a Steele groupie or something because the signature silly skits have bugged the hell out of me, since way back in the Warren Miller film days and I wish Taylor would leave them out. ...But oh my, I really dig this Music Video.

I’m a huge fan of music and I had to spend a good 20+ minutes after the film ended pausing through the credits to write down all the bands and songs in a number of sequences. The films opening sequence “Days of Archipelago” had my jaw on the floor and it kinda went on that way for a while with this film. In the past year or so I have seen some incredible advancements in surfing on film and in person at various events but these “out takes” from Stranger Than Fiction really blew my mind. Yes I said Out Takes. Apparently footage and sequences that didn’t make it into “Stranger Than Fiction”, as in cutting room floor stuff thankfully has come to see the light of day. I guess Taylor had a second look and decided to throw together some music, segue graphics and titles and bless us. Much of the surfing in this film can act like chronicle in time for how deep the change in style and technical moves is with the current generation of surfing.

I mean Pete Mendia is a style godfather for his generation and Shane Dorian is a Hall of Fame surfer with credits of epic proportions but their sequences defined the old style. Carving power surfing and solid tube riding are like surfing asleep compared to this other stuff. I don’t even know what to call it. I thought to myself, "do I need to wait to talk to Taylor to try to get some of the names right on the moves these guys are doing or do I need to go down to the beach here in Oceanside and find some semi-pro kid to help me name stuff while watching the footage?"

Days of the Strange Teaser from Re:Cal Mag on Vimeo.

Clay Marzo peeled back my weak dis of Hack-A-Froth in the first sequence with (forgive my naming now) some sort of floating reverse tail slide, drop back into the pocket into a hack leading and off the lip fins out 360 rocker slide back into the flow of the wave like nothing happened! No fist pump, no claim. AI amazes next with his signature power surfing then later Lee Wilson pulls some sort of ariel was it a 540 and Julian Wilson’s round house nose kick into a 360?!?! That is just the first chapter.

You can watch this film over and over and try to figure out how the heck these surfers can create these moves in their minds and then somehow actually perform them on a moving canvas with rocks and coral and sometimes huge consequence.
Get this film, throw a party, set it on replay and fight for a spot on the couch.

Surfers: Clay Marzo, Julian Wilson, Dane Reynolds, Dion Agius, Jordy, Shaun Cansdell, AI, Dorian, Loseness, Taj, CJ, Kelly and many more.
Music of Note: Tame Impala, bumblebeez, Van She, LadyHawke, We Have A Band, Cut Copy and others
dwww.koastalmedia.com
www.myspace.com/vanshe