High production, high budget music
videos still can’t compete with the visual punch of the psychedelic videos and performances of Planningtorock.
The name stands for the one-woman show composed, arranged and produced by Janine Rostron, a musician
and video master who began her career in visual art. Her strong, smoky vocals are combined with lilting
music and cryptic texts, blending into a mesmerizing sound that is simply too unique to categorize.
Janis Joplin meets Kate Bush meets electro? While Rostron’s vocal performance is arresting with its
grinding rocky drawls and high echoes, it is her videos that make her live act a must-see. While many
acts create their music videos for MTV and VH1, for online promotion or iPods, Planningtorock makes
handcrafted videos an integral part of the live music experience.
Slow-moving
kaleidoscope effects swirl together images of Rostron and her billowing hair, self-made masks, bizarre
poses, glam costumes and more. In Mission, Rostron’s dramatically lit face merges
with itself again and again to an almost tacky operatic soundtrack in minor key. When seen live, these
projected images are overwhelming, as the viewer gets folded into the cyclical rhythm. On stage, Rostron
gestures with hip-hop-like confidence, but she remains aloof and does not engage with the audience —
heightening the mystery of the halting sound and text. In Thinking That Thought Rostron
sings: “I don’t
know what I’m thinking, but I’m thinking that thought ... Come on, and think that thought ...”
What
thought? Maybe we will have to wait for the second album to know for sure. After the success of her
debut Having It All with Chicks on Speed Records she is back in the studio and
scheduled for a new release
this fall. If you have missed Planningtorock live, then you can get a taste of her act online, but this
is nothing compared to the real thing. The next time the act tours, make sure you plan to rock with
Janine Rostron!
Links:
www.planningtorock.com/video.html
www.rostronrecords.net
