Elliphant is a little bit unhinged in the very best way, as we learned when she dropped by our studio a few weeks ago to talk about her creative journey. Finding her voice artistically gave Sweden’s most unconventional pop star an outlet to spread her message of positivity to the world, and that’s exactly what she’s doing with the premiere of Music Is Life, out today as her first single as a signee to Dr. Luke‘s label Kemosabe Records — and Idolator has the exclusive premiere of the new video.
Although she’s been compared to M.I.A., Icona Pop and Diplo, Elliphant is fiercely genre-defiant, and while there’s shades of dancehall on “Music Is Life,” it’s a song that feels distinctly global — there’s a Swedish pop slickness, an American mainstream sensibility and a Caribbean bounce (especially with reggae singer Ras Fraser Jr. featured on the track). The video, shot in Kingston, Jamaica (which Elliphant recalls fondly — “It was a beautiful ghetto,” she told us), evokes Solange‘s stunning clip for “Losing You” but with a ferocity and zaniness that’s all Ellinor; she’s a mesmerizing presence on screen.
