SONGRAES
‘WIND’
THE NEW SINGLE OUT NOW
VIDEO DIRECTED BY BAFTA-WINNING FILMMAKER DAVID ARTHUR
STARRING DAVID HAYMAN
Award-winning Scottish filmmaker David Arthur has directed a new short film for Wind, a new track by Hamburg-based trio Songraes, taken from their new EP Distance (Sotones Records). The film unfolds as a self-contained narrative work, using the song as an emotional anchor to explore memory, movement, and the fragile space between past and present.
Songraes consist of Hannes Klock (Acadian Post, Blackbird and Spenser), Anja McCloskey (Haunted Stereo, The Irrepressibles), and lead singer, award-winning Scottish filmmaker Leo Bruges. Wind began life as a delicate finger-picked instrumental written by Hannes, which Leo initially felt was almost perfect without words. “But after listening a few times, ideas and lyrics started to form naturally,” he explains. “I tried to find a point of view and a loose journey for the narrator, along with images that could guide the listener’s imagination.” Lyrically, the song explores themes of isolation and loneliness, while allowing moments of lightness and hope to surface through its shifting emotional tone. Anja expanded the song’s internal and visual metaphors with breathy and bass-driven accordion textures, before inviting musical collaborator Davis West to contribute string arrangements that, as Bruges notes, “took the song to the next level.”
The new video stars acclaimed Scottish actor David Hayman, whose five-decade career spans film, television, and theatre, including Sid and Nancy, Rob Roy, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Taboo, and Andor. Hayman portrays an elderly man drawn into a quiet journey shaped by recollection and longing. Elysia Welch (Outlander, Jealous Alan, River City) appears as an enigmatic incarnation of a memory, moving in and out of the protagonist’s world.
David Arthur, a BAFTA and RTS award-winning editor whose credits include Sundance winner God Help the Girl, Guilt, Outlander, and recent comedy Grow, which premiered at Edinburgh International Film Festival, brings a strong editorial sensibility to his directing. His approach prioritises visual storytelling, emotional rhythm, and ambiguity, allowing meaning to emerge through performance, image, and pacing rather than explicit narrative explanation. “The song is wide open to interpretation,” Arthur says. “It speaks to journeys, both physical and internal. I wanted the film to play in that space.”
The project was inspired by David Arthur’s personal experience witnessing his father suffering with dementia. “I was listening to the track on repeat while visiting my dad,” he explains. “My Dad would sometimes believe he had appointments from his past or try to go out walking, something he was no longer able to do due to his lack of mobility. Reversing the process of becoming immobile and the mind returning to earlier places became something I wanted to explore in the film.”
Shot on location in Troon, on Scotland’s west coast, the seaside setting plays a central narrative role. Its beach and long promenade evoke both childhood memories and fantasy. “The sea carries strong associations with freedom and youth,” David notes. “Troon feels timeless, and it also has some amazing curved white-walled streets that feel like something out of an MGM musical.” The cinematography is by Darren Hercher, a long-standing collaborator of Arthur’s, and builds on their other short film work together. The visual language moves between composed dramatic frames and moments of documentary observation, allowing gestures, glances, and physical behaviour to guide the storytelling.
David Hayman was drawn to the project by the script and Arthur’s previous films. “The story resonated with me,” explains Hayman, “because when you get to my age you realise that dementia could be just around the corner. The shoot itself felt special. Two days, a lot of rain, and a gentle, supportive atmosphere.”
One week after filming wrapped, David Arthur’s father sadly passed away, lending the finished work an added emotional weight.
Recorded live in Hamburg at the studio of Friedrich Paravicini, Wind features on Songraes’ second EP Distance, out via Sotones Records. The EP builds on the organic textures of their earlier release Catastrophic Thinking, weaving rare and authentic instruments – including Ondes Martenot, celeste, mellotron, accordion, cello, and acoustic guitars – with layered multi-harmony vocals. Mixed and mastered by Fredrik Kinbom, the EP leans into the warmth of analogue processes to preserve the raw intimacy of live performance while expanding its sonic horizons. The EP has been warmly received with critics praising their “wistful indie folk” (Sounds & Books), calling it “a release that certainly deserves our attention” (Shoreditch Radio). They have also gained international radio support, with plays on Resonance FM, Shoreditch Radio, Amazing Radio’s Folk Charts and more, cementing Songraes’ reputation as an act to watch.
The band’s decision to collaborate with David Arthur was rooted in a long-standing creative relationship and a shared cinematic sensibility between Bruges and Arthur. They had worked together intermittently since 2007 across documentaries and short films, maintaining an ongoing dialogue through a shared love of cinema. “While he’s an exceptional editor and filmmaker, I really believe his strength lies in shaping narrative,” Bruges says. “We were lucky to have him on this project.” Arthur’s personal response to the song’s themes of isolation, loneliness and depression, and his decision to reframe them through his relationship with his father, took the project in an unexpected direction. “I knew he’d make a strong video,” Bruges adds, “but it has exceeded all expectations.”
Songraes have chosen to use this release as an opportunity to raise both awareness and funds for Spirit Aid, a Scottish humanitarian charity founded by David Hayman that supports children and young people affected by hardship in Scotland and internationally. In addition, a portion of the project’s budget has been donated to the same charity.
Songraes:
Instagram: @songraesband
David Arthur:
Instagram: @sleekitcuts
