Angel Olsen's Film 'Big Time' Premieres via the Amazon Music Channel on Twitch
Angel Olsen will release her new album, Big Time, on June 3rd via Jagjaguwar. Angel and director Kimberly Stuckwisch premiere a new film, also titled Big Time, presented by Amazon Music. The 28-minute film premiered on June 2nd on the Amazon Music channel on Twitch and via the Amazon Music App. The Big Time Twitch Watch Party also featured a Q+A with both Angel and Kimberly, followed by a concert airing from the premiere party at Brain Dead Studios in Los Angeles. Additional screenings will take place in Los Angeles and London.
Shortly after finishing the Big Time album, Angel had already been fantasising about how she wanted to present the music visually, and how to bring the narrative of what she had been experiencing both while writing and recording the record into the picture. She reached out to Kimberly who she had worked with on the video for 'Like I Used To' (and who went on to direct Olivia Rodrigo's 'Prom' film). The two of them worked through December on the script that became Big Time, which features music videos for lead singles from the album within the 28 minute film. They eventually brought in Ellis Bahl as a writing and editing collaborator, and shot the movie over seven days in late January.
The trailer features clips of two new songs from Angel Olsen’s Big Time: 'Chasing The Sun' and 'Through The Fires.'
"At the time of my mothers passing I kept having these super visual dreams about time travel. Later on I decided I’d name the record Big Time, not only because of the song but also as a kind of wink to time expansion and change. When I approached Kimberly Stuckwisch about making these videos, I thought it would be cool to include the storyline of one of the dreams I’d had, and really use it as a way to tell the story of the songs. She added dialogue and events, some that are based in reality and others that haven’t happened, to create a story arc around my dream, to give it a thicker plot, using the music videos within and creating a larger film. I’ve always had a vivid imagination and it was really special to make these subconscious moments real, but it was also a really emotional and raw process and felt almost at times like a spiritual clearing, that by putting myself in the story and moving pieces of it around, I also personally had to re-examine my losses and find a new way to process the events that actually took place in my life. Though most of it is scripted, it is probably the most intimate work I have ever made and shared with the public.. and it serves as an homage to my mother. I only wish my mom was here to listen to the record, because something tells me that she would have really liked this one." - Angel Olsen
"Big Time is the story of light versus shadow told through a non-linear surrealist dream space that poses one central dilemma. ‘What lengths must one go through to let go of the past in order to step out of the darkness and accept one's true self?’
It's a story that targets deep rooted complexities such as how our unconscious deals with repressed sexual identity, the hardships of letting go of our past selves in order to step into self actualization, and the guilt we hold when dealing with loss. For one reason or another, we all have parts of ourselves that we struggle to forgive as well as a part of ourselves we are afraid of exploring or that we think society won’t like - so we push those parts down into our unconscious psyches, into the shadows. This is the story of drowning in those fears before releasing your light." - Kimberly Stuckwisch
Big Time will be released as a part of Amazon Music’s upcoming celebration of Pride Month. Throughout the month of June, Amazon Music will debut new Amazon Original songs, playlists, livestreams and films like Big Time from other LGBTQIA+ artists.
