MGMT have shared the final preview of their upcoming album Loss of Life ahead of its release on Friday (February 23). Following previous singles ‘Bubblegum Dog’, ‘Mother Nature’, and ‘Nothing to Declare’, ‘Dancing in Babylon’ is a collaboration with Christine and the Queens, marking the first-ever official feature on an MGMT album. The track arrives with a music video directed by longtime collaborator Ray Tintori, who previously helmed the visuals for ‘Time to Pretend’, ‘Electric Feel’, and ‘Kids’, starring Chris along with John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch), Julian Morris (Pretty Little Liars, New Girl), and his real-life husband, the artist Landon Ross. Watch and listen below.
“I always loved MGMT’s multiverse, their freedom and talent, their limpid songwriting and killer soundscapes. Regal, inspiring,” Chris said in a press release. “When they reached out for this power ballad, I was honored and also excited to dive into their dream, because I have the same all-encompassing approach with my work. I loved the backstory of the lyrics as well, and I work my lower register here more than usual. I felt invited into their cool movie, and I’m glad to be now a part of the galaxy. Let’s work on more love in the love galaxy.”
“Creating the ‘Dancing in Babylon’ video with Chris and Ray was a prodigious affair (love), requiring everyone involved to operate in six dimensions at once, all while simultaneously making a simple turkey sandwich with Dijon mustard,” the band’s Andrew Van Wyngarden and Ben Goldwasser commented. “The sandwich that emerged is a cosmic mille-feuille that would be presentable in most high-end French diners.”
“I went back for the second day of shoot – the day where they decided to reinterpret a war scene, but with delirious soldier fits, very Cronenberg, with mushes of brain as knickers and, on my own armor, a pussy-shaped flesh,” Chris added. “I love how the video developed into this baroque odysseus of love. I love how personal and insane it gets with them. Very rejuvenating and liberating. And also, more utopias like this. Resistance is in our imagination. We can alchemize all this world’s pain and turn it into hope, for a better future. Literally, put flowers back at the end of guns. This is a good song for that. Love songs cure despair. End of transmission.”
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