Video Daze - Jante 10:34

We know it can be pretty tough keeping up to date with all the new skate videos coming out, so we've decided to save you some hassle by highlighting our favourite new releases.

It’s that time of year again. SOTY season is upon us and seemingly everyone who can kickflip is coming out of the woodwork with a new part or full-length video in hopes of receiving that coveted nod of approval from Thrasher. Amidst the excitement and confusion of various different companies releasing new videos - particularly over the last few weeks which have seen new full-lengths from Palace, Supreme, Bronze, and even Zero - there’s one video in particular that you’d be foolish to overlook: ‘Jante 10:34’.

‘Jante 10:34’ is the latest video from Fritte Söderström and the first instalment of a new series from the Swedish lensman, simply title ‘Jante’, featuring loads of the boys you may recognise from Sour Solution alongside some other stylish Stockholm locals like Axel Lindquist, Filip Almqvist, and Simon Hallberg. While the Sour team can usually be found frolicking through the streets of Barcelona, ‘Jante’ sees them return to their native land of Scandinavia to film in and around the Swedish city of Stockholm. Despite Polar Skateboards’ manual magician, Hjalte Halberg, claiming that Stockholm isn’t that good for skating, the boys in ‘Jante’ make a pretty convincing argument for the plentiful existence of spots within the city - although I get the impression that the majority of these spots wouldn’t be skateable without the freakish talents of the guys in this video.

Photo: Josef Scott Jatta shows off his hurdling skills with this triple ollie, shot by Gerard Riera.

The series’ title refers to a Scandinavian concept, the Law of Jante, which is one of the foundational principles of Scandinavian society and basically states that you should never think that you are in any way better than your fellow citizens, thus prohibiting certain forms of personal ambition that are all too common in the majority of Western societies. Instead, the Law of Jante forces people to make their work speak for itself, something which this video does exceedingly well. If you fancy learning more about the meaning of the videos name and the crew of people featured in it, be sure to head over to Free Skate Magazine to read Axel Lindquist’s hilarious article explaining the series, in which he takes the opportunity to rinse Free for their abstract graphic design and typography choices - which Free in turn responded to in a suitably tongue-in-cheek manner in issue 39 - as well as admonishing Free for even asking him to write the article. Safe to say that taking the piss out of a magazine in the pages of their own mag is definitely a serious flex.

Photo: Gustav Tonnesen switch wallies up into a lofty switch crooked grind, shot by Gerard Riera.

If there’s one thing that’s guaranteed to make me enjoy a skate video, it’s the presence of skateboarding’s most flaccid practitioner, Vincent Huhta Hasselberg. After first witnessing his torpid style in Sour’s second full-length video, ‘The Sour Solution II’, I was instantly enraptured by his floppy and effortless style (not in the sense of requiring no effort, but rather putting no effort in). Almost akin to Mr Magoo, Vincent bumbles around on his skateboard with the tricks seemingly happening to him rather than him actively performing them; if anyone’s style can be called ‘lazy’, it’s Vincent’s. His goofy personality shines through in both his trick and spot selection, as well as his execution, often following up a deceivingly difficult manoeuvre with a look of bemusement or a casual shrug, not to undermine the difficulty of the trick but rather suggesting that he didn’t play an active role in landing the trick. Almost like falling asleep on the train and miraculously waking up at your destination. Vincent is so generally unperturbed that he allegedly turned down the opportunity to ride for one of the most sought-after brands in skateboarding, Supreme: a real Chad move.

Photo: Vincent Huhta dips a back smith for Alexander Olivera's lens.

It would be impossible to discuss this video without talking about Fritte’s incredible filming. The whole video has a dynamic feel to it that helps capture the motion of the tricks being performed, and Fritte’s constantly changing position in relation to the skater further accentuates the natural motion of the skaters while making the video feel like a choreographed dance between the skater and filmer. Many of the video’s lines are filmed looking back at the skater, a lesser-seen perspective in most skate videos, which helps place emphasis on the skater rather than the spot - although in a far more refined manner than the heavy-handed facial zooming of other contemporary filmers - and adds a certain sense of mystery about what might be coming next. In addition, the video is interspersed with photographs which work alongside the B-roll to add some much-appreciated character to this extremely polished video.

That's enough chit-chat though. If you like what you see in the video, head to the shop to view the full range of Sour Solution skateboard decks and clothing, as well as New Balance and Last Resort footwear, available at Cardiff Skateboard Club. Safe.