Dreamers Blunt Action go back to the future for Lil Nas X and Lady Gaga

Last year, one of the best art books had to be Dreamscapes & Artificial Architecture, a release that celebrated and even 'legitimised' a digital art style defined by imaginary buildings and dreamy interior design.

Written By: Giacomo Lee

5 January 2021

Metallic dinosaur with long tail stands on reflective blue surface beside small vehicle, with glowing blue sun and meteors in dark sky above

A standout amongst its spacey reams of Neo-Surrealism was the work of Blunt Action, a mysterious US trio who work across visual design, music, games, and digital production.

"The three of us met at college in upstate New York around 2013-2015," they tell Creative Boom, "and almost immediately began working together on various personal creative projects involving music and digital art."

Stack of golden pancakes with melting butter and syrup on a checkered plate against a blue background, created as surreal digital art by Blunt Action

Slice of layered chocolate cake with metallic silver frosting and a red cherry on top, served on a turquoise plate with a fork, beside a cappuccino in a white cup on a matching saucer

Pink-walled interior with neon-lit archway, potted plants, staircase and expansive sky view through windows, created by Blunt Action

"As college students with desire, creativity, and probably too much time on our hands, we began experimenting with 3D design, game development, and video editing trying to teach ourselves everything we could and more. By 2017 we decided to start an official collaborative project on Instagram that could fuse our music with this new art we were creating. This is where Blunt Action officially formed and would ultimately transform into the growing studio it is today."

Blunt Action tell us they derive inspiration from science, technology, history, futurism, dreams, and the places they've travelled. "Our goal is to combine these different elements in a balanced way to evoke feelings of discovery and nostalgia. We want the viewer to step into a new world which they have never seen, but ultimately feel the comfort of somewhere they have been before."

Crumbling stone castle ruins perched on a rocky cliff overlooking turquoise waters, surrounded by palm trees and flowering vines under a bright blue sky

Mystical portal of glowing turquoise light framed by crumbling stone ruins amid overgrown vegetation under a pink and purple twilight sky

While their work may visually imply connections with the hazy, retro electronic scenes of vaporwave and synth-wave music, they have mainly produced promotional animation for the greats of rap and pop. Did you see that Lil Nas X teaser starring Michael J. Fox where he warned the rapper not to go to 2020, Marty McFly style? Blunt Action designed the skit's very '80s looking animated titles. Meanwhile, for the one and only Lady Gaga, they've designed a very cyberpunk city scene.

On the "vape" side of things, Blunt recently created visuals for a 360° VR Concert held by vaporwave label 100% Electronica.

Sunlit courtyard with a white marble statue, ivy-covered yellow building with terracotta roof, flowering plants and an olive tree

Futuristic interior space with neon blue lighting, potted plants, glowing rectangular floor panel, and archway in purple and blue hues

Futuristic interior with glowing orange grid wall, blue circular seating pods and a large window framed in neon blue displaying illuminated tropical palms and surreal landscape beyond

"We are always evolving, and learning as creators, constantly trying different styles and techniques. Our plans include growing our brand via producing our own short films and music videos for our music, releasing Blunt Action apparel and 3D printed sculptures, and creating augmented reality and virtual reality art installations of our designs."

"We also plan to continue to collaborate and partner with individuals and organisations around the world to bring their ideas to life." Catch Blunt Action's evolution in 2021 on their Instagram.