Following her January comeback single, the alt-pop dance odyssey “Prayer,” Swedish artist Tove Styrke returns with the follow-up track “Space.” The second single begins sparse and meditative before building into a wall of sound. The emotional track offers a further glimpse at the scope of the forthcoming album The Afterparty. Written like a film score, it’s a 47-minute body of work that’s meant to be experienced from beginning to end, with a story arc that slowly unfolds.
“’Space’ is partly inspired by meditation.” says Tove. “I wanted to make something that sounds the way that feels to me. The track explores the feeling of being incredibly small in the universe, and how that can feel both lonely and deeply reassuring at the same time. My favourite moment in the song might be the instrumental drum section at the end. I’m fascinated by the idea that you can explore the entire universe by looking inward. We’re stardust. Everything that has ever existed is reflected inside us.”
The track was recorded using only analogue synthesisers from the 1970s and 1980s, alongside live drums and electric bass. Every sound on the single, as well as across the upcoming album, was performed and recorded live in the room or generated through analogue machines. No samples were used.
Tove also shares more about the music video for “Space,” co-directed by Natalie Olenheim Boija and Tove Styrke: “The video is an ultra-macro, slow-motion journey through the body, seen as a landscape, an object floating through space. When you zoom in that close, we’re all the same.”
Of her most ambitious project yet, the forthcoming album The Afterparty, Tove Styrke reveals: “It feels like we’re living in the afterparty phase of our time. The album reflects on what that does to a person, told through the lens of an actual afterparty.” She worked with a tight, local Swedish crew throughout the entire album, which she also co-produced herself. All collaborators are artists in their own right: producer and co-writer Magnus Larsson, Joel Kiviaho (drummer and producer of rising act Boko Yout), and songwriter Linnéa Martinsson (Lune).
Following the album’s release this fall, Tove Styrke will perform a series of special live shows built around The Afterparty starting off with an exclusive show in Stockholm. More European dates will be announced shortly.
Speaking of the upcoming shows Tove says ”The album is written with a story arc, so I want the live experience to reflect that. I’ve chosen spaces that allows for a more focused way of listening while still having the ability to keep things playful and in the moment. I’m interested in breaking some of the distance between the ’stage’ and the audience.”
20 November at Värmeverket, Stockholm (Swe)
Critically acclaimed and internationally respected artist Tove Styrke has released four albums to date (most recently 2022’s HARD), and has amassed over 1 billion streams across her catalogue, including songs such as “Say My Name,” “Borderline,” and “Show Me Love.” Her collaborations span artists like Clean Bandit, Ritual, ALMA, and Cosmo’s Midnight. Most recently she expanded her creative world by appearing in a leading role in David Bowie’s Lazarus musical in Stockholm in spring 2024. With a new album on the horizon, the stage is set for her to usher in an exciting new era of music.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD RADIO EDIT OF “SPACE”
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