Canadian‑British synth artist Soft Riot, now based in Glasgow (UK), presents a striking new music video for “Ghostwriter”, the latest visual chapter from his full‑length album Crux, released in May via Possession Records. Steeped in 80s new‑wave aesthetics and graphic surrealism, the video offers a vivid counterpart to one of the album’s standout tracks.
“Ghostwriter” marks the second official promo video from Crux, following the April premiere of the album’s opening track “Moving Out Of The Black”, unveiled just ahead of the record’s 15 May release. As with much of Soft Riot’s visual output, the new video is a meticulously crafted piece: all graphics and editing handled by JJD, with animations created largely by hand using physically printed materials. Background textures and visual layers were projected, filmed, and re‑filmed to achieve the video’s analogue, dreamlike quality.
Soft Riot explains the process behind the work: “The video for ‘Ghostwriter’ took a while to set up and plan — I had hoped to finish it a month or two earlier, but promoting the new Crux and Alter releases, along with everything else in my life outside of being ‘Soft Riot’, pushed the timeline. Sometimes the planning stage takes the most time. The video can be viewed on two levels: the obvious surface of what the viewer sees, and a more graphic, surrealist collage — quite different from the performance‑based videos that dominate the genre.”
Crux stands as the latest evolution in Soft Riot’s fifteen‑year journey through synthesizer‑driven post‑punk. Across dozens of releases and regular European tours, JJD has carved out a distinctive sonic identity that blends darkwave, new wave, post‑punk, italo, and EBM influences. His work often evokes the spirit of Fad Gadget, Prince, early Simple Minds, Skinny Puppy, Bill Nelson, and the current wave of underground synth artists — yet remains unmistakably his own.
With “Ghostwriter”, Soft Riot continues to expand the visual and conceptual world of Crux, offering a piece that is both nostalgic and forward‑thinking, tactile and surreal — a reminder of the unique space he occupies within the modern synth underground. Link
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