Andy Hylton

Born in Yorkshire, UK, filmmaker Andy Hylton has directed over fifty music videos for numerous artists over the last ten years.

An astute visual artist, Hylton’s videos are defined by a photographic naturalism, a beautiful aesthetic and good vibes. His love of the music is reflected in his images, and his concepts often showing links with his past in documentary and photography.

This can be seen clearly in his work for Corinne Bailey Rae, Estelle, So Solid Crew, Jamie Cullum, Killa Kela, The Ordinary Boys and the modfather himself, Paul Weller.

A film soundtrack buff from a young age, a band photographer, funk collector and self-confessed cinema addict, it is no surprise that Andy Hylton ended up as one of the UK’s respected and in-demand music video directors.

His father encouraged and developed a love of the cinema and movies. The early days of home video rental also began to seep into his unconscious from a very early age.

A steady diet of Stanley Kubrick, Fellini, David Lynch, John Carpenter and Dario Argento were to become a profound influence on Hylton’s visual style.

His musical education came from an eclectic musical household; the blend of modern jazz and big band from his father and the constant barrage of punk, ska, hi-energy disco and northern soul from the bedrooms of his siblings opened his mind to music’s many flavours and would have an effect on his understanding of rhythm and mood, central to all of his work.

As a teenager, Hylton’s first job was in the theatre as a follow-spot operator and soon began to expand his experience into stage lighting and sound in the numerous theatres on the east coast of England. His next move was to study fine art and graphic design, including photography.

The knowledge of photographic dark room techniques and the ‘image’ lead Hylton to the indie clubs of Scarborough, photographing many of the bands, which were coming through in the early 90’s, whilst simultaneously studying documentary forms of communication at Hull University.

Hylton moved to Brighton in 1996 and began making his first film short, ‘Vinyl’, which was showcased by the BFI and Kodak New Directors. It was picked up to open alongside Darren Aronofsky’s ‘Pi’ and Buena Vista took it on as a support to ‘Little Voice’ at the National Film Theatre.

An exchange of fax with Fatboy Slim (Norman Cook) at Skint Records in Brighton lead to his first commission for Skint and so a career was kick-started which would produce a body of work which covers a wide spectrum of genres from rock, indie and hip-hop to left field experimental, garage, and pop.

His understanding of the forms of capturing reality and his pure, photographic approach helped him create cinematic interpretations of the music. Hylton retains a ‘soulful vibe’, which helps mark him out from the crowd. This would help him gain much respect from the artists who consistently want to work with him.