TOVE LO REVEALS OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO FOR ‘I like u,’

In the midst of a whirlwind summer festival tour, playing in front of hundred of thousands of fans around the world, as well as a SOLD OUT Australian tour, multi-platinum-selling, GRAMMY® nominated artist Tove Lo unveils the official music video for her latest single, ‘I like u.’ The music video was made in collaboration with innovative Tokyo-based anime project, Shinsei Galverse. Featuring hand-drawn anime artwork and original character design by the video’s director, Japanese storyboard artist Ayaka Ohira. The video was produced by Shinsei Galverse and ARCH Inc, and animated by SoK LLC.

The creative fusion offers up the perfect pairing. Tove’s summer smash is a sonic nod to 90s dance music, while Galverse Director Ayaka Ohira brings her ‘nostalgic x futuristic’ visuals to life, combining the aesthetic of classic sci-fi anime with cutting-edge techniques and technology.

The video finds Tove’s anime persona stepping beyond her own creative world into the style and story of Shinsei Galverse. Her robot lover, Annie from her seminal ‘No One Dies From Love‘ and ‘Borderline’ videos returns in flashbacks. Even as Tove’s planet comes under attack from hostile aliens, she pines for her lost lover. Awakening to her true form, as a badass scorpion-tailed Gal, we learn the dark secret at the core of her new powers – Scorpions consume their mate to survive in harsh conditions.

Speaking about the music video, Tove Lo reveals, “I’m so excited for all of you to enter GALVERSE; a powerful and beautiful creation by Ayaka Ohira. I’m so honored to have the final chapter of me and Annie take place in this Universe. It’s been such an amazing experience watching this come to life by Ayaka and her team, and the fact that my character gets to be a part of the heroines in Galverse is so god damn cool. I hope you love this video and feel all the creativity and hard work that went into it <3 R.I.P Annie.”

The director adds, “I wanted to create something like a science fiction spectacle. I thought a lot about how to combine the sadness of love and a story on a cosmic scale. Tove and I talked about how we wanted to express the insecurity, vulnerability, and powerful strength of women, as well as the intense and bizarre side of Tove’s character.”

Tove is donating a portion of her streaming proceeds from ‘I like u‘ to The Trevor Project, the leading suicide prevention org for LGBTQ young people.  For more information please visit  www.thetrevorproject.org.

Talking about the track, Tove Lo explains, “I wanted to make another dance song that sonically felt like a nod to 90’s and Y2K dance music. I wrote this song with Timfromthehouse, we worked on it for months in between tours to figure the perfect arrangement. It’s not the usual pop structure but it’s perfect for this song, I think. Lyrically I’m telling the story of my thoughts the first time I saw the love of my life. They’re not clean but at least I never said any of them out loud.”
 
For the music video’s creation, the Galverse team brought industry legends onboard as key staff for the music video production, with shared credits on iconic anime ranging from AKIRA and Ninja Scroll to Spirited Away.Art Director Hiromasa Ogura defined the look and feel of cyberpunk forever with his work on anime classics Ghost in the Shell (1995). Ogura and his studio, Ogura Atelier, contributed the expansive cosmic background art and art direction to the video. Director and Shinsei Galverse co-founder Ayaka Ohira was trained under cel-animation masters like Yoji Kuri and Manabu Ohashi. Prior to co-founding the Galverse project, Ohira worked as an independent animator directing music videos for influential Japanese artists including m-flo, JP THE WAVY, and CHAI. Galverse’s innovative community-first model allowed fans and supporters to contribute ideas, character and enemy designs to the video, while working to Ohira’s strong creative vision. Shinsei Galverse is the first original IP from Tokyo-based creative tech studio WAGAMI Labs Inc. The Shinsei Galverse anime pilot will be released in 2024.
 
‘I like u’ follows the release of ‘DIRT FEMME (Stripped)‘, a new 7-track EP featuring raw and emotionally stripped back versions of tracks from Tove Lo’s critically acclaimed fifth studio album, DIRT FEMME, which includes fan favorites like ‘No One Dies From Love,’ ‘Suburbia,’ ‘Pineapple Slice,’ and ‘Grapefruit,’ plus a vulnerable new version of her latest release, ‘Borderline.’
 

For fans hoping to catch Tove Lo live, she will return to North America in early September for a series of SOLD-OUT headline shows with special guest UPSAHL which kick off September 5 in St. Paul, MN, and include dates in Chicago, Royal Oak, MI, New York, Boston, and two dates in Washington, DC, concluding September 15 at The Atlantis. Tove Lo is also confirmed to play at Music Midtown Festival in Atlanta, GAon Sunday, September 17 (TICKETS) and both weekends of Austin City Limits Music Festival, in Austin, TX, Saturday, October 7 and October 14 (TICKETS). Additionally, Tove has announced two new West Coast dates, in Los Angeles at The Bellweather on October 9, and at The Observatory OC in Santa Ana on October 10. Tickets for the Santa Ana show go on sale Friday, August 4th. Both of these shows include support from Tove Lo’s DJ collective, Ladies of Leisure.

Before returning to North America this Fall, Tove heads back over to Europe this month for a series of festival performances, Way Out West in Sweden, Flow Festival in Finland, Rock en Seine in Paris, Zürich Openairin Switzerland, Feelings Festival in Norway and All Points East in London. For a complete list of tour dates and to purchase tickets, go to www.tove-lo.com.

While on the road, Tove Lo has been playing songs off her most recent album, Dirt Femme, including fan favorites like ‘No One Dies From Love‘ [WATCH], ‘2 Die 4‘ [WATCH], ‘True Romance‘ [WATCH], ‘Grapefruit’ [WATCH], the SG Lewis-assisted ‘Call On Me‘ and ‘Pineapple Slice,’ and more. Dirt Femme is Tove’s most confessional album to date, disguising deeply raw confessions, emotions, memories, and experiences into irresistible dance-floor filling gems. A gift only very few artists can do well. The album was universally welcomed by fans and critics alike, popping up on multiple Year End ‘Best Of’ lists, including Billboard, The FADER, NPR, NYLON, People Magazine, Rolling Stone, Stereogum and more.

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