West Coast DJ/producer TOKiMONSTA (born Jennifer Lee) just premiered her latest music video for her new single “Love That Never” this past Thursday, December 5. This marks new material released from TOKiMONSTA since the release of her third full length studio album 2017’s Lune Rouge which was released via Young Art Records. According to a press release, “Following a tremendous year that includes the release of her Young Art Records project Young Art Sound II, a Grammy nomination, and a multitude of festival performances around the world, TOKiMONSTA has released her latest single ‘Love That Never’ from next year’s upcoming project. The single is accompanied by a pastel-hued animated visual by Sydney-based studio Babekühl (Free Nationals, Zeds Dead, Havana Brown, etc).”
The beautifully animated rendering of TOKiMONSTA’s “Love That Never” is a vibrant dreamlike picturesque landscape that is entrancing and serene. The video tells a story of a girl peering into the sea to then finding herself plummeting to the seamlessly never-ending bottom surface. As previously reported in Consequence of Sound, “When she awakes, she finds herself in a strange world and takes off running past bird-hybrid fish, giant squid, and tall underwater mountains.” The smooth sonics of the production behind “Love That Never” is the perfect score behind a story that feels both therapeutic and poetic of TOKiMONSTA’s vision. The aforementioned Consequence of Sound article furthers that “‘Love That Never’ comes with a gorgeous visual depicting ‘our solitary journey to that place deep inside us that is a well of pure joy.’ In a series of watercolor-like animations by Sydney-based studio Babekühl, we see a woman fall into a body of water and plummet to its bottom as shapes swirl around her.”
It has been a tumultuous couple of years for the self proclaimed TOKiMONSTA including the diagnosis of Moyamoya Disease and undergoing two brain surgeries which rendered the musician briefly incapable of language and comprehension skills. According to a recent Billboard article, in the three years “…since her surgery for moyamoya — a rare disease caused by blocked arteries at the base of the brain — many elements of Lee’s world, and her outlook, have evolved. Once reticent to share anything about herself with fans and the media, thinking it was cooler to be mysterious, the critical darling and dance world entrepreneur is now open and forthright, exuding the calm wisdom of a person who has spent a lot of time in contemplation and figured a few things out.” This perseverance and passion for music allowed TOKiMONSTA to release her most critically acclaimed body of work and successful Grammy nominated album, Lune Rouge.
TOKiMONSTA explains the genesis behind “Love That Never” the song/video saying:
“Entering a new stage of my life, I realized how multifaceted love is. It is this beautiful overwhelming sensation that fills us up, but can also leave us empty and bare. This song is a personal reminder that if we foster our own intangible love, we will always be fulfilled.”
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