soundtrack: Blood Count (Billy Strayhorn), performed by Duke Ellington.
The old Lone Star concrete plant, West Oakland, California, from above in 2023.
A video shot in 2023 above and around the old (but still active) Lone Star concrete plant in West Oakland. Like thousands of other people, I’ve driven past this strange-looking and seemingly on-the-verge-of-decrepit building regularly over the decades, and always wanted to capture how it both fits into and stands out from its industrial surroundings. I used the beautiful Billy Strayhorn composition “Blood Count” (as performed by Duke Ellington) for the soundtrack — I’ve had that tune rattling around in my mind for a long time waiting for something like this where I (obviously) want to make some sort of contrast with the familiar beaten-up old facade being swooped slowly around.