The “Smoke On The Water” by Deep Purple has become a ritual for every guitarist paying homage to the rock gods. It’s instantly recognizable. For the first time, as part of the campaign celebrating the release of the “Super Deluxe Edition” of “Machine Head,” the album on which the song was first released, the single received an official music video, which you can now watch below.
Designed by Chiba Film based in the United Kingdom, the animated production faithfully interprets the story behind the song’s inception. As the legend goes, Deep Purple was in Montreux to record some songs in a mobile recording studio rented by the Rolling Stones. They were supposed to record at the casino there after Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention’s performance. However, during the show, a member of the audience fired flares towards the ceiling, which immediately caught fire. The entire building burned down, and “Smoke On The Water” narrates the events of that fateful night.
Dan Gibling and Luke McDonnell, directors at Chiba Film, say: “It was an honor for us to visually interpret this song, undoubtedly one of the greatest rock songs of all time. The fact that the song is a story in itself meant that we were not short of inspiration for the scenes accompanying the music. Our idea for the video follows the fact that the band was under pressure to make this record on time after the events that unfolded at the casino.”
