Eagle-Eye Cherry - Long Way Around [feat. Neneh Cherry]

2000

Eagle-Eye Cherry - Long Way Around [feat. Neneh Cherry] (2000) Director: Nick Gordon Era: Post-Grunge / Adult Alternative Crossover (2000) - Late-cycle alternative rock era merging acoustic singer-songwriter sensibility with polished major-label production; sibling duet format bridging alternative rap and Americana-inflected rock. High curatorial value as a documented first recorded collaboration between two significant figures of the Cherry musical dynasty, directed by a UK director (Nick Gordon) whose concurrent 2000 output (Muse 'Sunburn') places this video within a identifiable and researchable cohort of early-digital-era British music video production. The warm-graded, performance-focused aesthetic and fast intercutting serve as a reliable time-capsule of how European adult alternative acts were visually positioned for MTV and broadcast rotation at the turn of the millennium. The familial and multicultural dimension elevates its significance beyond genre documentation. Context: Released in 2000 as the second single from Eagle-Eye Cherry's album Living in the Present Future, 'Long Way Around' represents a landmark family collaboration: the first studio recording between half-siblings Eagle-Eye Cherry and Neneh Cherry, children of American jazz trumpeter Don Cherry. Eagle-Eye had broken through internationally with 'Save Tonight' (1997–98), and this duet with his sister, a pioneering figure in alternative rap and trip-hop via 'Buffalo Stance' (1989), was a fusion of their complementary musical lineages. The track was produced with Rick Rubin and recorded in New York, reflecting the transatlantic Scandinavian-American artistic identity central to both artists. The Cherry family's multicultural heritage (Swedish-American, with roots in Choctaw, African-American, and West African ancestry) lends the video a cross-genre cultural resonance rare for European adult alternative releases of the period. Director notes: Directed in 2000 for the single 'Long Way Around' from Eagle-Eye Cherry's second album Living in the Present Future (Diesel Music AB / Sony Music). The video documents the first recorded collaboration between half-siblings Eagle-Eye Cherry and Neneh Cherry. Production context: the single was tracked at The Magic Shop and Sear Sound in New York City, with additional overdubs at Cello Studios, Los Angeles, and mastered at Heathmans Mastering, London. The video was released in the context of European promotional activity for the album, which charted in the UK Top 20 and top 3 in Sweden.