Kyle Platts releases a high tempo music video for Kyoto-based producer Stones Taro

Kyle Platts is no stranger to It’s Nice That, and we’re constantly impressed by each project he puts out into the world – and this one is no different. The illustrator and animator has created the music video for Pump, a track by Kyoto-based DJ and producer Stones Taro who produces house, techno, garage and breakbeats.

Rhythmic and high speed, this is the first music video that Kyle has made on his own – released today on the label Highball Records, a London-based label known for exporting club music from Japan. The result sees four minutes of fast-paced visuals come to life, inspired by Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) car culture and the manga/animé culture that surrounds it.

Through organisation and attention to every fine detail, Kyle had one month to complete the project. As such, he spent much of the pre-animation process sketching the scenes, working out the perspectives and compositions he wanted to feature, and then physically sticking these ideas on the wall in front of his desk. “They would start to evolve the more I looked at them,” he says. “For example, I love the patterns in tyre treads, so I knew I wanted to do something where the tyres move and you can see how the pattern distorts.” Influenced by the early films of Eedweard Muybridge, an English photographer known for his motion-picture projections, Kyle proceede to replicate the patterns of the tyres in motion. A trippy visual that lends itself greatly to the themes of the video. “But I honestly don’t know where the spider flower idea came from, it must have been a late night.”

Through organisation and attention to every fine detail, Kyle had one month to complete the project. As such, he spent much of the pre-animation process sketching the scenes, working out the perspectives and compositions he wanted to feature, and then physically sticking these ideas on the wall in front of his desk. “They would start to evolve the more I looked at them,” he says. “For example, I love the patterns in tyre treads, so I knew I wanted to do something where the tyres move and you can see how the pattern distorts.” Influenced by the early films of Eedweard Muybridge, an English photographer known for his motion-picture projections, Kyle proceeded to replicate the patterns of the tyres in motion. A trippy visual that lends itself greatly to the themes of the video. “But I honestly don’t know where the spider flower idea came from, it must have been a late night.”

As for additional motifs – and let’s be honest, there are quite a few – the video hints to a ton of different references, including a spider flower, an abstract version of the Kyoto street map, plus anime shows such as Wangan Midnight and Initial D. “These shows glamorise street racing in Japan around the 1990s and early 2000s,” says Kyle.

The end result is a welcomed dose of visual madness. Thanks to the open brief and the momentous energy found in the music, Kyle was able to fully experiment and create the type of music video that he’s always wanted: “a fully indulgent celebration of car culture and the music I love.”