Late last year, Mark Lanegan issued what would be his final recording, a collaborative effort titled Dark Mark vs. Skeleton Joe, reflective of the billing of his pairing with Joe Cardamone. Now a new video has surfaced for one of the songs off that album, “Hiraeth,” which consists of the final video footage shot with Lanegan prior to his passing earlier this year.
The clip starts off as a bit of a tribute to Lanegan with video footage of the musician at varying points in his career creating an onscreen collage, but eventually as the hypnotically entrancing tune plays out, the pieces of the collage are pulled back in favor of a beautiful forest walk with Lanegan and Cardamone walking through the forest near his Killarney, Ireland home.
This came during a period shortly after a battle with COVID had temporarily put the musician in a coma. When Cardamone came to visit, it offered the musicians a chance to catch up.
“When I made it over to Killarney to visit Mark post-COVID/coma, we only had a week to work on filming things and humble resources,” Cardamone explained to Spin. “We just got together every day and tried to make a go of it. A lot of the photos and filming while I was there with him doubled as sight seeing. This was a chance to spend time together and for Mark to show me his new hometown.”
The musician adds, “He looked so genuinely happy there, more so than maybe I ever saw in Los Angeles. Surrounded by nature and peace. It’s a breathtaking corner of the world. On the last day, we all decided to visit a side of the lake that Mark had yet to explore. We walked and talked through the woods for several hours and broke out the camera at the very end. I had always hoped to do some kind of visual for ‘Hiraeth’ but we we were almost out of time at this point and just hanging out took priority.”
While the album arrived last fall, Cardamone says he feels that “Hiraeth” offers a beautiful reminder of Lanegan’s artistry. “His lyrics and melody on this cut in particular really moved me and in a way became the centerpiece to the album,” explained the musician. “It’s a song that is just filled with unfiltered love, nothing guarded. No damage involved. Truly one of the most moving pieces of music I have ever been a part of.”
Lanegan’s death occurred on Feb. 22, 2022. No official cause of death was revealed. His legacy includes fronting Screaming Trees and performing in Queens of the Stone Age, the Gutter Twins, with Isobel Campbell and with Duke Garwood prior to his final album with Cardamone.
Watch the video for Dark Mark vs. Skeleton Joe’s “Hiraeth” below.
Dark Mark vs. Skeleton Joe, “Hiraeth”
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