Musician Gains Attention as a Director in Film Festivals

Adam Gilbert, Youth and Contemporary Music Director at Central Presbyterian Church in Summit, NJ, recently received the Accolade Film Festival Award of Merit as well as acceptance into the Manhattan, Hoboken and New Hope Film Festival for his short film “On Softer Ground” Known more as a piano based singer/songwriter with 2 albums under his name, 5 star ratings on itunes, his own Pandora station, critically acclaimed reviews and national airplay he now finds himself immersed in the film festival circuit which is conveniently timed with the release of his new album, “On Softer Ground”
“You really never know how things are going to grow in a creative process. What started as a song, turned into a music video and then turned into a short film.” The short is a non- traditional music video in the sense that you never see the singer or band and is shot with a more artistic and cinematic approach. The story line borders reality with mysticism which follows two characters coping with the emotions of heart break. It’s no wonder why this video is being shown at film festivals, it’s landscapes and character movements are beautifully shot and carefully crafted with a hypnotizing melody that seems to slow down time. The process wasn’t easy though, Gilbert says, “I’m tough on myself, if it doesn’t feel right I just won’t release or share it. I had to rework and re-shoot the video many times until it really reflected how I felt and what I wanted to see on the screen. I was lucky to get help towards the end of the process in character development and editing from Ray Williams and Mark Kelly at Hostile Wood Productions to enhance the depth of the story.”
Adding to the build of up of the new album Gilbert also released a haunting version of Wicked Game as a single on itunes and spotify a few months ago. “This single fits some of the vibe from the new album so it works well as a build up. I love the atmosphere that is created in the original version of Wicked Game but I wanted to try to stretch that emotion even further to give the song more of a dynamic arch. I wasn’t sure if I was going to pull it off or release it but it feels good so I put it out as a single on itunes to help ramp things up! Whatever I release, I try to make it my own—to carve out my own niche and (hopefully) bloom within that space. It’s always challenging, but if you find the ‘it,’ the feeling is extremely rewarding.”
The new album blends vintage Coldplay with Beck’s Morning phase but ultimately gives us the defining sound of Adam Gilbert. A piano based singer-songwriter who creates powerful musical moments in grandiose fashion or with the simplest of arrangements of just a piano and his voice. You can watch the Award winning music video and preview his last 2 albums on his website at www.adamgilbertmusic.com The new album will be released on June 29th.