Premiere: CoastalDives – “Pivot”

By Ryan G

Promo photo by Chris Casella

It seems very fitting that I would watch the music video we’re premiering for the first time on the same day that the first ever photos of a black hole were debuted to the world.

Whenever a celestial discovery happens, I get a weird feeling that is part reverence, part existential crisis—but mostly awe. One might say that my emotions “pivot” a lot in the course of such a discovery. Now, the name of the band doesn’t exactly conjure up images of the last frontier—in fact, the brains behind the project, Casey Cooper of dream-prog-pop band The Receiver, described CoastalDives in a press release as being inspired by a drive down Highway 1 on the west coast of the US.

There’s a lot to unpack with this single. From the journey of feeling in the song itself, to the imagery in the music video, to life events of Cooper that may have contributed to the idea behind the song—though I’ll admit the latter point is more speculative. In any case “Pivot” is the sonic exploration of a paradigm shift (or turning or pivot) in a relationship, and/or a life path I will pull down a particularly striking portion of a quote I was given, below:

The beginning of the song is very dreamy and lofty…this is the turning. And once the steady beat begins, this is where the focus on the new direction begins and sharpens throughout the rest of the song

The music video itself is also striking, poignant, and creates a sense of wonder in me that, in tandem with the song, falls in that same umbrella of feelings that come about when cosmic discoveries happen. New paths are formed there too (the creative director behind the visual is the German artist Anna Baranowski—you can learn more about her here).

Watch the video below: