Man in a Tower

I’m very happy to be releasing a new single on July 1st. This year, I’m working on an independent EP in Spanish. I already know what I want to call it and which songs will be part of it—I’ve had this project in mind for a while. I haven’t released much since When It Rains In Alaska, four years ago.

Visuals are a huge part of my music. I wanted this project to have an iridescent style—something very colourful and fresh, but at the same time kind of distorted and messy.

To make this music video, I spent an entire afternoon locked in my dark studio. I recently bought a projector —pretty cool. I started experimenting with moving backgrounds and shadows.

I waited until night to shoot the full-body dancing scenes in my living room. Then I added some editing, and there you have it: a music video! It sounds a lot easier than it actually was. Editing takes ages.

When I wrote the song, I had a very clear idea of what I wanted it to sound like, but I didn’t have a direction for the lyrics. I just wrote what I was thinking about, which is why there isn’t much metaphor in the verses. It’s simply a description of the man in the tower. I didn’t intend for it to be very introspective—I was aiming for a fun pop song. I actually wrote two different choruses for this one, and the second one accidentally turned out to be metaphorical. “There’s a man in a tower looking at me, locked in the lookout by his own key.” Somehow… very catchy!

The chorus completely changed my original idea. The funny, ironic description turned into a deeper observation of his character—an image only I can see. A person who is unable to connect deeply with others. The tower is an obvious symbol of superiority, but by the end of the song, it seems to be demolished by the storm and thunder of rejection. We’re never quite sure whether the man in the tower is in love, or trying to destroy the person who makes his ego crumble.

It’s one of my favourite songs in Spanish that I’ve written. It was a lot of fun to produce as well. I hope you’ll give it a listen and let me know what you think.

“El Mirador” is out tomorrow at 9 PM.