Video Premiere: James Houlahan "Circus Dream"

Four albums in, James Houlahan is still reveling in the wonder and imagination of the record-making process. Released last Friday, his new LP, The Wheel Still in Spin, drifts through varied musical and lyrical states evoking stillness against constant motion, often making reference to wheels and circles as a means of processing his own journey. 

Today TDC is thrilled to premiere the video for "Circus Dream" an enchanting ballad led by gentle acoustic guitar, piano, and light percussion and carried Houlahan's subtle, tender vocals which carry the listener through a journey - personal yet universal, introspective and dreamlike - through the streets of Los Angeles. 

Houlahan had this to say of the track and video,
"I wrote "Circus Dream" soon after moving to L.A. from Boston in 2012. I rented a small studio apartment just off Sunset Boulevard at Sunset Junction. The song is basically a reflection on making that move and whether or not my music and I are up to the challenge of starting over in a new city, a city known for its dreamers, its chaos, and its spectacle.

Since then, I've gotten to know both the Silver Lake and Echo Park neighborhoods pretty well. The video focuses on some of my favorite sites and experiences in those parts, using Sunset Boulevard as a geographic anchor.

All of this was shot on an iPhone using the 8mm app. And I guess there's something wrong with the phone's camera, as you can see that little dot of light that appears (especially at the end of the video). Somebody who knows about cameras explained to me that it was some kind of technical malfunction. But whatever it is, I thought it was a very interesting mistake, and I used it to create the end. And I gotta give a shout-out to those two birds that you see flying straight through the sun at the end. I could not have timed that better! Thank you, birds. The experience of making this video was a curious blend of intention, limitation, and total random chance. I enjoyed the process a lot, and hope to make more videos in the future."

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