Breaking comes across as quite an austere name, but really Austin Johnson’s music under the name is anything but. The 23-year-old filmmaker and musician dedicates just as much effort to his visuals as he does his music, and that comes across clear as day in his stunning new video for “Rough Cut.”
The Brooklyn-based producer, who frequently works with his friend Little Shadows, originally started working on “Rough Cut” over a year ago. “This song was originally written for a short film I directed and scored called Babyteeth,” he explains. “However, the realization of this idea proved to be different than the idea going so it was scrapped from both the film and the soundtrack for tonal differences.”
Instead, he committed to filming something new for the song. It’s clear why “Rough Cut” didn’t make Babyteeth, which is a often foreboding short film that embraces the cold. “I made this song last winter when it was freezing and my heat didn’t work and I just wanted to feel warm,” he says, and that comes through vividly in its finished form. It’s an inviting atmosphere, and alongside the gorgeously shot video, it perfectly conveys that feeling of shutting out the cold.
Watch the premiere of the video above.