Back in early 2015, Diplo and Skrillex released their self-titled debut album as DJ super-duo Jack Ü, and both previous singles have featured big-name artists: Kiesza on “Take Ü There” and Justin Bieber on “Where Are Ü Now.”
Now the duo returns with a new video for their new single “To Ü,” which features the vocal stylings of AlunaGeorge and was directed by AG Rojas.
The song is the story of a tortured lover torn between wanting and not wanting her partner: “Believe me, I could live without you / But I really don’t want to / Believe me, I could love without you / But I really don’t need to.”
The chorus, however, finds that lover giving herself over to her desire for companionship once she recognizes that leaving is somehow more painful than being left. But another dilemma remains: “But you’re coming back / How do I get back to you?” Where there’s a will, there’s a way, and AlunaGeorge makes that abundantly clear as vocalist Aluna Francis repeats the sentiment, “I’m gonna get back to you” as the beat drops.
The video picks up exactly where that question leaves off by portraying a series of lovers—black, white, Asian, straight, and LGBT—who have seemingly solved AlunaGeorge’s dilemma. What results is a compilation of clips of these lovers cuddling, wrestling, or making out in various stages of undress (with an emphasis on shirtless boys). The scenes jump from bedrooms to carnivals to graffiti-ridden city streets, all while the bass pounds in and out of the narrative.
The video’s homemade quality (in the best sense possible) legitimates the feelings of intimacy the overall narrative attempts to portray, giving viewers a sense of just how gratifying it can feel to have found our way back to our lovers’ arms.