Mechanical River – “Pomelos” (Video)
Published: June 20, 2017
Mechanical River is a one-man band led by Charleston’s Joel Hamilton, who you may remember from the first Sofar Sounds Charleston show at Sully Sullivan’s photography studio back in April. If I’m not mistaken, Mechanical River played “Pomelos” that night, and now there’s a music video to go along with it. The song was recorded at Electric Lady Studios in Manhattan, and that banjo-sounding instrument you’re hearing is actually a cigar box guitar. Story goes that Joel wandered around Europe alone for a few weeks playing a cigar box guitar for tips, hitched a ride to the coast with some climbers and ate a Pomelo that he originally thought was an orange. And thus was born the idea for this song.
Joel teamed up with Emmy Award Winner Brandon Ward of The Frame Theory and together they came up with this cool little lyric video with some moving artwork in the background. Joel and Brandon sat down with Billboard to talk about the release of the “Pomelos” music video, as well as some background as to how the idea came about. The original artwork was done by Mechanical River friend Rebecca Harrelson, and the collage now lives on in the wall of Joel’s house, as well as on the cover art for “Pomelos”.
Mechanical River – Pomelos (Music Video)