With Tove Lo, the Shinsei Galverse Comes Alive

Tove Lo released the official music video for her single “I like u,” collaborating with the Tokyo-based anime project Shinsei Galverse. As of now, the project has grown into a collection of 8888 unique NFTS, independently crowdfunded by thousands of fans, community members and collectors.

The Swedish singer-songwriter has created an iconic track. The song immediately takes listeners back to 90s dance music with its synthetic piano As the melody makes its way through its variations, a steady and syncopated beat keeps things light. Tove Lo’s voice is just right, soft enough so that it floats and fills the song.

I wanted to make another dance song that sonically felt like a nod to 90s and Y2K dance music. I wrote this song with Timfromthehouse, we worked on it for months in between tours to figure [out] the perfect arrangement. It’s not the usual pop structure but it’s perfect for this song, I think. Lyrically I’m telling the story of my thoughts the first time I saw the love of my life. They’re not clean but at least I never said any of them out loud.

– Tove Lo

The video transforms Tove Lo into her anime persona, as she steps into the world of Shinsei Galverse. There, her robot lover, Annie, returns in flashbacks. This is a character that’s been referenced in her other videos like “No One Dies From Love” and “Borderline.” The plot follows these two figures, confronting their feelings of longing and love, amidst the end of their world.

The Galverse team brought industry legends on board as key staff for the music video production, with shared credits on iconic animes ranging from Akira (1988) to Ninja Scroll (1993) and Spirited Away (2001). Art Director Hiromasa Ogura defined the look and feel of cyberpunk forever with his work on the anime classic Ghost in the Shell (1995). Ogura and his studio, Ogura Atelier, contributed the expansive cosmic background art and art direction to the video. And of course, the video director and Japanese storyboard artist Ayaka Ohira was trained under cel-animation masters like Yoji Kuri and Manabu Ohashi.

Most importantly, Galverse’s innovative community-first model is all about fans and supporters, letting them contribute ideas, as well as character and enemy designs, while working toward Ohira’s strong creative vision. In 2024, the anime is set to finally be released.

Tove Lo has shared that part of the proceeds will go to The Trevor Project, a nonprofit organization aimed towards suicide prevention efforts among LGBTQ youth. In addition, the artist will be playing at Music Midtown and Austin City Limits Festival. Tove Lo is also continuing her North American Dirt Femme Tour this fall. There’s so much happening, so make sure to follow her on Instagram and listen to her Spotify.