German producer Tensnake hasn’t finished for the year yet: After a string of well-received and electrifying releases this year, the dance pop artist is ending 2020 with the unveiling of a conceptual music video for his single “Strange Without You” ft. Daramola, taken from his second album, ‘L.A.’
“Strange Without You” – Tensnake ft. Daramola
A dominant force in the world of dance music, German DJ and producer Tensnake has been an exciting figure to watch over the past decade. Cementing himself over the years as a game-changing dance pioneer, the artist exploded in popularity back in 2010 with his dancefloor-catered original “Coma Cat.” His debut album Glow, released in 2014, brought further acclamation, including an A-list of features among the likes of Nile Rodgers, three time Grammy-winning Stuart Price (aka Jacques Lu Cont), Jamie Lidell, MNEK, Fiora, and many more.
Now in 2020, Tensnake has returned stronger than ever with the unveiling of his sophomore artist album L.A., named after the city that, until recently, he called home. Over the album’s 14 tracks, released on October 16 via Armin van Buuren’s Armada Music, Tensnake reinvents himself, drawing inspiration from the music he enjoyed while growing up in Los Angeles, and prior to that, a small village south of Hamburg in the ‘80s.
Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering Tensnake’s music video for “Strange Without You” featuring Nigerian-born talent Daramola, the innovative and nostalgic single off L.A. The song perfectly captures how Tensnake’s sound has shifted and evolved into something new over time. Smooth chords and groovy dancehall percussion introduce the track, while Daramola’s stunning vocal performance adds a new depth to the music. As the arrangement progresses, the atmosphere is shifted into a late night, disco feeling with the help of analog synths and claps, further reinforced by the song’s final bridge and buildup.
Girl you know your love is everything
The way you make me feel it feel like bling
I’m drowning in your love and it is so beautiful
Oh let me be your miracle tonight
Let me give you something you can stand on
No be say you just dey from like you no want love
I’m drowning in your love and it is so real
Let me be your miracle tonight
“‘Strange Without You’ is a very personal song for me,” Tensnake tells Atwood Magazine. “I wrote it after a breakup and the idea was to combine into one song the excitement of beginning a new relationship and the strange emotional state you often find yourself in after a breakup. Daramola captured the vibe perfectly and translated it into a bittersweet love song you can also dance to.”
Fresh off enlisting Sunnery James and Ryan Marciano to add their own House spin on “Strange Without You” in an official remix, Tensnake’s track is once again being transformed, with new life breathed into the song through the telling of a powerful, visual narrative. The second in a three-part visual series directed by Groovy Chaos founder A.J. Gomez, the new music video for “Strange Without You” continues to follow the story of two girls and their special bond that was first introduced in the music video for “Somebody Else”:
The story began with the two partners enjoying their time together in the city of Los Angeles. One girl is seemingly satisfied with the relationship, yet the other always seems troubled and distant. The first video in the three-part series: “Somebody Else,” ends on a bittersweet note, as it is revealed that the character who appears anxious is actually a mermaid, returning back to the sea and leaving her lover behind.
In the music video for “Strange Without You,” the story continues with the first girl, now alone, visiting the places she used to go to with her partner. It’s a stunning addition to Tensnake’s three-part story, and keeping audiences on their toes and excited to see how the story ends for these two characters in the series’ third and final installment, the as-of-yet unreleased video for “Make You Mine.”
Living’s been kinda strange without you
Even though we both know how we are
And for all I thought about you
Loving you don’t get me very far
A love I can’t explain you got me
You make buss my brain you want me
You make me go insane
But I can be your miracle for life
Director A.J. Gomez describes his inspiration and vision for the Tensnake video trilogy as an LA love story – a theme that fits the songs’ parent album while also taking on a life of its own on film:
“When I first listened to Tensnake’s tracks I felt in love with them instantly,” Gomez recalls. “They gave me this fantasy dreamy vibe which helped me escape the world for some time. I knew Tensnake wanted a story based in LA, so I listened to the tracks over and over and I remembered one time I was on Venice beach and I saw a girl coming out of the water and ran to kiss her partner – she kissed her so passionately they even fell to the sand, so I kind of think of the moment while listening to the tracks over and over, and a mermaid started coming into my head.”
“I kind of thought that “Somebody Else” could be about a loved person who is with someone else, but that she doesn’t belong to our world and she has to go back eventually. So “Strange Without You” would be about the other girl feeling she doesn’t fit in this world anymore and she’s hunted by visions of the mermaid and the sea. And “Make You Mine” becomes the reunion of these two girls after the mermaid decides to come back for her and take her with her to the sea.”
“Strange Without You” is a perfect showcase of Tensnake’s various influences and ever-changing sonic identity, and certainly one of the highlights off L.A. Complete with the music video for the song, palpable on-screen chemistry shapes the telling of this story.
— —
:: stream/purchase L.A. here ::
“Strange Without You” – Tensnake ft. Daramola
— — — —
Connect to Tensnake on
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
Discover new music on Atwood Magazine
? © 2020
:: Stream Tensnake ::
