Nearly five months after Sufjan Stevens released Ascension, he and his label Asthmatic Kitty has released a powerful music video for Tell Me You Love Me. Directed by Italian film maker Luca Guadagnino, the interplays a snowy wooden scene with individuals pivoting on the floor of a white and blank landscape. The music video expresses the disillusionment but longing for love and acceptance that is described in the song. Flashing blurry colorful lights, and shifting scenes that resemble oil paintings add color in contrast to the white landscapes.
My love, I’ve lost my faith in everything
Sufjan Stevens – Tell Me You Love Me (YouTube)
Tell me you love me anyway
Tell me you love me
My love, I feel myself unraveling
Tell me you love me anyway
Tell me you love me
My love, I feel the darkness on my back
Something inside me like a wave
Tell me you love me
Sufjan recorded all of the instruments, using a Tempest analog drum machine, and polyphonic analog synths: Prophet 08 and a Prophet 6. He also added droning electric guitar and piano that is placed deep in the mix. James McAlister, who also collaborated with Sufjan on the transcendent Planetarium, added heavily compressed drums and percussion.
Note that McAlister has an ambient electronic EP titled Scissortail coming out on March 26, 2021.
Sufjan Stevens links:
