Cibo Matto - Know Your Chicken (Video)

JUL 01 1995 · 12:00

Cibo Matto - Know Your Chicken (Video) (1995) Director: Evan Bernard Era: Mid-90s Alternative/Indie MTV Era (1995) - Post-grunge underground diversification; NYC downtown art-music scene embraced eclectic, food-obsessed J-pop/trip-hop hybrids on major college radio and MTV alt rotation High curatorial value as a confirmed 1995 artifact documenting Cibo Matto at their pre-major-label moment, directed by Evan Bernard in his breakout year. The video was recognized by 'Video Killed the Radio Star: The History of Music Video' (2000) as historically significant. It encapsulates the NYC downtown art-indie ethos, the Grand Royal Records visual sensibility, and the cross-cultural dynamism of mid-90s American alternative music. Technically, it exemplifies the warm, underlit, handheld 16mm/prosumer aesthetic that defined low-budget indie video production of the era. Context: Released May 7, 1995, 'Know Your Chicken' arrived during a moment of intense underground ferment in New York City's downtown music scene. Cibo Matto, formed by Japanese expatriates Yuka Honda and Miho Hatori in 1994, represented an irreverent, genre-fluid counterpoint to both grunge's dominance and the emerging Britpop wave. Their food-obsessed lyrical universe and trip-hop/rock hybridity placed them at the intersection of art-world irony and accessible indie pop. Directed by Evan Bernard fresh from his Beastie Boys 'Root Down' breakthrough, the video shared stylistic DNA with Grand Royal Records' visual identity: low-budget wit, absurdist staging, and anti-commercial energy. MTV's airing of this video helped introduce Cibo Matto to a mainstream audience ahead of their 1996 major-label debut. The track and video also signal the cross-cultural, transnational dimension of 1990s American indie music, where Japanese-American creative voices were finding amplified platforms. Director notes: Confirmed via IMDB (tt30013082) as directed by Evan Bernard, released May 7, 1995. The video emerged from Bernard's early career orbit around the Beastie Boys' Grand Royal Records label ecosystem, within which Cibo Matto were closely associated. Bernard's early 1995 work, including this video and 'Root Down', established his signature style blending absurdist staging, handheld intimacy, and deadpan performance. The video predates the band's major-label debut album Viva! La Woman (1996) and was shot during or just after the self-titled EP on El Diablo Records. It was notably featured in the documentary series 'Video Killed the Radio Star: The History of Music Video' (2000), Episode 1.2, attesting to its period cultural recognition.