"Smoke On The Water" by Deep Purple is one of the essential songs for any beginning guitarist. For the first time, as part of the re-release campaign for the album Machine Head (1972), the band is releasing a music video for the song.
The music video mixes images of the band with animation, and the British production company Chiba Film was responsible for its creation, directed by Dan Gibling and Luke McDonnell . At the video's premiere, they commented: "It was an honor to put this song on video, undeniably one of the greatest rock tracks of all time."
"Smoke On The Water": the story behind the song
The animation tells the story that inspired the lyrics of "Smoke On The Water." At the time, Deep Purple was in Montreux to record some tracks in a mobile studio rented by The Rolling Stones . A casino was to be the recording venue, and Deep Purple would only take the stage after Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention . During the show, someone in the audience fired a flare onto the roof, which caught fire. The entire building was engulfed in flames, and the song narrates the events of that night.
Regarding the concept of the music video, the directors described it as follows: “Our idea for the video stems from the fact that the band was under pressure to make this record on time after the events that took place at the casino. We wanted to portray all these events and the band members accurately, but also elevate the animated video to a thrilling and action-packed chase that shows the band pursued by the pen as they traverse the deep rhythms of the record.”
The remix, made by Dweezil Zappa , Frank Zappa's son, was chosen for the music video. With this, the tributes to the event that inspired the song are complete. Check out the video below:
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