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Belgian artist Loïc Nottet was featured on a 2015 FADER list of the artists making European pop a safe space for weirdos. Since then, he’s released his debut album and had a number one in his home country, but held onto the quirks that made his early music special. His new single “Mud Blood” has evocative lyrics about demons lurking and an ‘80s electropop stomp, before cracking open into an instantly catchy synth-driven chorus. The dramatic video — embedded below and directed by Edouard Valette — also plays with the idea of light and shade: Nottet has a dance-off with a darker version of himself in a hall of mirrors, with plenty of flaming torches and balletic pirouettes before a Through The Looking Glass-like twist at the end.
Over email, Nottet explained: “I wanted to explain the song through a fight between my two selves: the good and the evil. The evil wants the good to get dirty in order to escape his problems. Eventually the good prevails, meaning that you have to face your problems, not run away from them. Even though problems are hard to deal with, the most important thing is to never give up.”