Keane - Somewhere Only We Know

2004

Keane - Somewhere Only We Know (2004) Director: Corin Hardy Era: Post-Britpop / New Acoustic Movement (2004) - UK alternative rock's piano-driven revival, bridging post-Britpop introspection with early 2000s indie sincerity and pastoral imagery High curatorial value as the confirmed first professional music video by Corin Hardy, who went on to direct over 40 music videos and feature films including The Hallow (2015) and The Nun (2018). The video also represents the commercial breakthrough moment for Keane, one of the UK's most successful piano rock acts of the 2000s. Its understated pastoral aesthetic and gentle fantasy narrative make it a textbook example of the New Acoustic / introspective indie visual mode that defined the mid-2000s UK alternative scene. Context: Released in January 2004 as the debut single from Keane's first album Hopes and Fears, 'Somewhere Only We Know' arrived at a moment when British indie rock was pivoting away from Britpop's swagger toward introspective, piano-led emotionalism. The song peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart and has since been certified triple platinum in the UK and double platinum in the US. The song's lyrical geography is rooted in a specific childhood location in Battle, East Sussex, and the video's pastoral British woodland setting literalises that emotional topography. The video's fantastical 'simple thing' creature element, a small spirit accompanying the band, lends the narrative a fairy-tale quality that prefigures director Corin Hardy's later career in horror and dark fantasy. The song's cross-media ubiquity (Grey's Anatomy Season 1, The Lake House, Winnie the Pooh, Beef) cemented it as one of the defining emotional anthems of the mid-2000s UK indie era. Director notes: Confirmed as director of the official UK music video for Keane's 'Somewhere Only We Know' (January 2004) via IMDB (tt10826712), Dailymotion production credits, and Corin Hardy's own account at Directors Now. Per Hardy's own testimony at directorsnow.com, this was his first professional commissioned music video, secured on the back of his award-winning short film Butterfly (2003) after it screened at the Edinburgh Film Festival. Hardy described it as the first of approximately 50 music videos he would direct over the following decade. The production company is listed as White House Pictures (UK) per IMDB, with film producer Kit Hawkins and producers Andy Green and Keane credited on Dailymotion. The video features the band journeying from a backstage setting via British taxi to a woodland location, incorporating a fantasy creature element ('simple thing' spirit). The Dailymotion credits cite '© 2005 Universal Island Records Ltd. A Universal Music Company.'