Speaking about his working life, James Turrell once said: “In the desert you have the opportunity to do things, and some of them are crazy.” California native Ross Wallace Chait (drummer for Ducktails and WALTER) seems to get this notion, using his “Find Your Beach” video to enact a desert-bound incantation that’s a little bit crazy and a little bit beautiful. Invoking self-transformation through the power of feedback loops and free-jazz drumming, Chait and his gang wander through a double-exposure sandscape of the soul, summoning sigils in the form of opening flowers and ominous drifting emoji. One has cause to reflect: just where is “your beach” — out of sight beyond the dunes? Inside of Chait’s tape recorder? A formless state within that we each must take a journey of deep introspection to find? My guess is all three and more. In any case, Chait inspires us to don the black robe, allow the soul to drift, and discover these answers for ourselves.
Tiny Mix Times is pleased to premiere “Find Your Beach,” directed by Lily and Ross Wallace Chait and shot/edited by Juan Izguerra. Chait’s recent (excellent, far-out) album Rocking and Rollin’ is available now from A Giant Fern.