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Be is the orchestral art-rock band assembled by Hawk frontman David Hawkins. The supergroup released its third album, Here, on Oct. 6 – its first release in seven years.
Today we premiere the video for one of the album’s most special tracks. “Shine Your Love Light” harks back to the Beach Boys and features vocals from Gary Louris of The Jayhawks.
The polymathic Hawkins, who is also an abstract artist, created the video himself, from conception to cinematography to editing and special effects, filming it in Venice Beach, California. He described the video as “kind of a love letter to Southern California and a meditation on its beauty. The album was inspired by Pet Sounds and dedicated to Brian Wilson, and I think the song captures a little of the golden vibrations they were such masters of.”
Hawkins began working on the album as an escape from the reality of the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The song focuses on the light in a lover’s eyes – one of the recurring themes of the album – and how that light becomes almost like sustenance in dark times like the pandemic,” he said. In the studio he added layers as time went on, and “when it was finished I was struck by how uplifting and positive it was – like the muses brought me a reply or a solution to the feeling of the time, not just a reaction to it.
“Music is so powerful that way – I feel so grateful to be able to do it, and I’m constantly amazed and humbled by its magic.”
Contributions to that magic come from prominent collaborators. Besides Louris, the album features drummer Pete Thomas (Elvis Costello), keyboardist Morgan Fisher (Mott The Hoople), woodwinds and horn arrangements by Brian Wilson’s musical director Paul Von Mertens, and Max Crawford (Willie Nelson, Wilco, The Waco Brothers) on trumpet.
Here is available for streaming and download.
And now here’s “Shine Your Love Light”:
