Star Destroyers, a new supergroup of killer Philly musicians, arrived just last week with a stunning self-titled song and a sleek, strange music video directed by Chris White. The four-man line up consists of Key Studio Sessions vets Ajay on bass and vocals, Jonill on keys and vocals, Brushstroke on guitar and vocals, and Kyon on drums. All are deeply skilled instrumentalists and genre-bending artists on their own. If you’re tapped into the local scene, they’re likely familiar faces – though you’ve never seen them quite like this. In the video for “Star Destroyers,” the men perform in a huge church, dine on some Chinese takeout, and stand together while suavely dressed for a Reservoir Dogs remake.
Then eyeballs begin to melt, the image flickers, and a trippy technological twist appears. The faces of the bandmates begin to morph into movie stars: Denzel Washington, Leonardo Dicaprio, Brad Pitt and more. This facial trickery was created with AI; ironically, the song itself is anything but artificial. AJAY’s achingly emotional vocals anchor this track which, like the solo work of these artists, is soulful, searching, melancholy, and not easily defined by genre. Check out the video below and then head to Silk City next Thursday, April 4th for the first Star Destroyers performance. Charley Coin will open and KYON will be DJing throughout the night.