Jacob Bellens / Everybody Needs Some Loving

One of the most distinctive artists of the Scandinavian music scene, Jacob Bellens is used to confounding expectations and following his own vision. He’s the master of the heartfelt-yet-ironic leftfield pop sound and with this single he throws a new curveball into the mix.

Everybody Needs Some Loving starts with a big synth brass sound reminiscent of latin pop from the 80s, before dropping into a shuffling groove and Jacob’s signature obtuse lyrics. The chorus arrives as a wonky off kilter pop hook, further rooting Jacob Bellens in the canon of oddball geniuses.

“The song was written in realization of what’s actually important in life.” says Jacob. “Halfway through the process, I had an unintentional encounter with an idea for a hookline that felt familiar and the chorus was done shortly after. Sara Nanna, who did the video contacted me a couple of weeks after I had finished the demo, asking me about a video collaboration. I felt her idea for a stop motion film would fit nicely with my song. The package stings like a bee, rocks your body right and I love it. Hope you will love it too.”

“This music video is a puppet animation featuring a lonely man who feels redundant as he reminisces on better days.” says Sara Nanna, the director. “Alternating between uplifting rhythms and melancholic lyrics, the character takes us through nostalgic encounters between himself and his friends, dancing and musing, blurring the lines of reality. The journey becomes increasingly surreal, though culminates on a hopeful note. Shot in colour, using greyscale elements, the filmmaker plays with scale, light and reflections, to create a music video which is both naturalistic and surreal. Played out in a suspended black room, the setting is in sympathy with the narrative.

Because the hookline in Jacob Bellens’ song vaguely references the Backstreet Boys hit “Everybody”, Jacob wanted his music video to give a nod of acknowledgment to their video too. At first, I was a little sceptical about it, because I couldn’t visualise my puppets being dressed up as vampires and mummies. But once I created the storyline, it all fell into place and it ended up being a fun challenge to implement the choreography from a Backstreet Boys video”.