Brother Leo is shaping up to become Sweden’s next crossover pop sensation. His first two singles ‘Strangers On An Island’ (produced by Fatboy Slim) and ‘Push Up’ are approaching six million streams and have seen a range of tastemaker media tip him for big things. Having recently played the Clash party at the Ace Hotel, he now shares the official video for his current track ‘Shine’.
Contrasting joyous pop with anxious, existential lyrics, ‘Shine’ was a turning point for musician, songwriter and producer Ola Svensson as he embarked upon his reinvention as Brother Leo. He co-wrote ‘Shine’ with the Grammy-nominated Elof Loelv (Rihanna, Tove Lo, Tove Stryke).
The accompanying video plays on both of those elements of the song. The playful summer vibe pulsates throughout, courtesy of the playful choreography together with the vibrant colours and striking design of La Muralla Roja, a postmodern apartment complex on Spain’s south coast. But the darker aspects of the lyrics are also symbolically alluded to. It was directed by Leopold, whose varied visual credits include work with Slaves and many others.
“The idea for this video was to illustrate a colourful trip into the subconsciousness – the feeling of being trapped and lost inside your own self-made prison and longing to find the way out” explains Brother Leo. “I was in a pretty dark place when this song came to life. The writing process turned out to be some kind of turning point for me, both personally and creatively. To some this will probably be another happy tune, but for me it means something totally different”.
Brother Leo makes engaging sun-kissed pop that possesses a quirky and unconventional undercurrent. And this is only the beginning. Brother Leo is working on new music with some of the world’s leading producers including Mark Ralph (Years & Years, Clean Bandit), Coffee (Dua Lipa, Rihanna) and Dan Grech (George Ezra, Lana Del Rey).