Watch Elephant Gym’s elaborate music video for new ‘Macbeth’-inspired song ‘Witches’

Taiwanese math rock band Elephant Gym have released the Macbeth-inspired song ‘Witches’ from their upcoming third studio album ‘Dreams’.

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The single was released on streaming platforms alongside a music video on May 4 ahead of the album’s release on May 11. The lyrics of ‘Witches’ are lines taken directly from the iconic seventh soliloquy to futility in William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, which reads in part: “It’s a tale told by an idiot / full of sound and fury / Signifying nothing.”

The eerie, elaborate music video takes its cues from Macbeth as well, depicting Elephant Gym as the three witches from Shakespeare’s play – but with an Asian twist, as they chop up aromatics and prepare noodles for for a spell. The three witches lead “people to a path that will eventually lead to nothingness” using prophecies and desires, the band explained in an Instagram post.

Watch the music video for ‘Witches’ below.

Elephant Gym announced ‘Dreams’ back in March, detailing a 12-track album featuring collaborations with Taiwanese pop artist 9m88 (‘Shadow’) and Hakka singer-songwriter Lin Sheng Xiang (‘Dream Of You’). The Kaohsiung City Wind Orchestra and Chio Tian Folk Drums and Art Troupe are also credited on ‘Wings’ and ‘Deities’ Party’ respectively.

The four tracks from the band’s 2021 EP ‘Crack of Dawn’ that was released exclusively for Japanese listeners – the aforementioned ‘Wings’, ‘Dear Humans’, the toe-sampling ‘Go Through The Night’ and the bass instrumental ‘Dreamlike’ – will also appear on ‘Dreams’.

Elephant Gym have also previewed ‘Dreams’ on their website via a “psychological test” based on the 12 Jungian archetypes and developed to match the songs on the record. By playing the choose-your-own-adventure game, fans can unlock snippets of the album.

The trio most recently released a cover of Emil Wakin Chau’s 2001 hit ‘Any Song Reminds You of Me?’ as part of Rock Records’ 40th anniversary celebrations in early December.

Elephant Gym first released their debut EP ‘Balance’ in 2013. They would go on to release their debut album ‘Angle’ in 2014 before dropping the ‘Work’ EP in 2016. They released their sophomore album ‘Underwater’ in October 2018.

The post Watch Elephant Gym’s elaborate music video for new ‘Macbeth’-inspired song ‘Witches’ appeared first on NME.