IAN LOCKWOOD
ORBO
A NEW COMEDY/MUSIC VIDEO
OUT NOVEMBER 17, 2023
Advance video stream available by request
We are pleased to announce the November 17, 2023 release of the Orbo comedy/music video by Brooklyn underground comedy scene staple Ian Lockwood. Orbo, Lockwood’s newest underground hit, has been performed live for over a year in various underground venues around NYC. In that time the song has become a highly requested earworm. The single was released this summer, to preview the highly anticipated music video.
"I've had people come up to me on the street, singing my song. I wasn't sure that would ever happen, and I didn't realize it would make me feel so warm, proud, and absolutely crazy" Lockwood says.
In Orbo, Lockwood's consciousness is scanned and copied to a computer, where his digital clone takes the form of a limbless orb. Lockwood sings a cheery, catchy, gospel-inspired pop song about how he loves his "best friend" Orbo, ignoring Orbo's cries for escape from his torturous digital prison, where his infinite sentence moves in slow motion. After all, "time works different inside the computer".
"This song is really about my own existential crisis about aging and powerlessness, I'm completely terrified by the idea of an endless, torturous digital life, and with advances in AI, the nightmare was starting to look more realistic. But then I started to think, okay, what's funny about this. It's so horrible, it's kind of hilarious."
This song has become Lockwood's calling card, and nearly synonymous with his act. People are disappointed if he doesn't play it, and often request it when booking him. And the character of Orbo has taken on a life of its own with people stopping Ian on the street to send greetings to the fictional, tortured AI.
The song's catchy, upbeat themes and production contrast with Orbo’s murderous, existential torture, and death, creating a unique pop experience that is unmistakably Ian Lockwood. Continuing in the vein of his Not Like Other Girls and Nasty EPs, the Orbo video is a major evolutionary step, scaling up every aspect of production. Shot in association with the Brooklyn Comedy Collective, Orbo was directed by Brooklyn film darling Michelle Gold, who also created the nightmarish VFX for the video, including Orbo himself.
"Making this video was such a blast, and working with Michelle, Suzy and Johnny was so fun. The dancer boys were incredible -- none of them are dancers, and I simply demanded they show up in the morning and learn choreography… we were deep in the trenches together and found victory -- for the glory of our king, Orbo!"
"Yes," he smiles and rolls his eyes. "I was high when I wrote it."
ABOUT IAN LOCKWOOD:
Ian Lockwood is a Brooklyn-based comedian and pop musician originally from Los Angeles. He is the co-host of the stand-up show ‘Hot Teens’ at the Brooklyn Comedy Collective and has had recurring appearances on the Earwolf podcast Earwolf Presents. The Nasty EP released in 2020 introduced the comedy-pop style that has become Lockwood’s signature in the Brooklyn alt scene. He is an alumni of NYU Tisch's Experimental Theatre Wing, Second City's Comedy Studies, UCB, and The Annoyance Theatre NY, and his shows have been covered in Time Out, Brokelyn, Brooklyn Paper, Bedford+Bowery, and more. Check out ianlockwood.info for more info - it’s a cute site!
ABOUT DIRECTOR MICHELLE GOLD:
Michelle Gold is a director, editor, and comedian known for her intricately-crafted absurdist videos and live performances. Her work has been featured in Time Out, Vulture, and the New York Times. She sat on a panel for the Philadelphia Fringe Arts on theater and comedy and she has appeared in shows with Please Don’t Destroy, Girl God, and many other notable comics.
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