DURAN DURAN reveal new video for ‘Black Moonlight’

Duran Duran have revealed the official music video for their new single ‘Black Moonlight’ (see previous Blitzed blog) as taken from their latest studio album, Danse Macabre, which just scored the iconic British group their 10th UK Top 5 LP.

The creation of GRAMMY-winning director Jonas Åkerlund (Madonna, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga), who the band last worked with on their spectacular ‘Girl Panic’ clip, the visuals for ‘Black Moonlight’ follow Duran Duran through a performative séance – a haunting play on the history of clairvoyance and mysticism, inspired by the Danse Macabre album artwork, which itself features images adapted from a collection of vintage séance photos personally sourced by keyboardist Nick Rhodes at auction.

‘Black Moonlight’ also sees Duran Duran reunited with long-time friend and collaborator Nile Rodgers on guitar and production, as well as ex-band member Andy Taylor adding guitar parts. Speaking about ‘Black Moonlight’, Duran Duran’s Nick Rhodes said: “I have always felt the best music videos are all about the ideas – having a seance in a haunted house was a perfect fit for this song”.

The music video for ‘Black Moonlight’ was made in collaboration with Casamorati by Xerjoff. Xerjoff’s creative director and CEO, Sergio Momo, revived the nineteenth century perfume house, Casamorati, with the intention of safeguarding the historical and artistic heritage of the Art Nouveau era. 

Among the collection of vintage perfumes is Dama Bianca, selected to appear exclusively in the ‘Black Moonlight’ video. Dama Bianca, literally translated as ‘White Lady’ refers to the dark tale of a woman who was pushed to her untimely demise from her castle, only to appear in the afterlife wandering the halls of the place she once lived. 

Newly released Dama Bianca perfumes will contain a unique QR code on the packaging which will lead to the ‘Black Moonlight’ music video, and exclusive behind-the-scenes content featuring Duran Duran and Sergio Momo. 

Danse Macabre – conceptualised at a fabled Halloween gig for the ages in 2022 – is now immortalised across 13 songs threading together new music, themed covers and darkly-reimagined versions of the band’s classic tracks.

Check out the forthcoming new issue of Blitzed for an exclusive review of Danse Macabre which sums up the album as “surpassing expectations with its mixture of vibrant, musically impressive new material and covers that go above and beyond the concept of simply doing justice to the originals.”

 Danse Macabre is out now via Tape Modern for BMG.

Photo: Stephanie Pistel