“Tokyo” was the closing track on British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Dan Croll’s second full-length album Emerging Adulthood (Jul 21, 2017) - and one of the most infectious and disarming sonic portraits of envy you are likely to encounter. The lyrics do not indulge in any subtleties when it comes to depicting Croll’s F.O.M.O. (‘I break down inside/ Every time that I see you've arrived’), but the melodies and Croll’s pleasant falsetto conjures mild euphoria instead of anxiety and insecurity. The song’s bright guitars and glossy indie pop production ultimately foregrounds the wistful longing that Croll expresses in the first half of the chorus, rather than the green-eyed monster he reveals later on: ‘No I've never been to Tokyo/ Never made my inhibitions known/ Don't look kindly on the things you do/ From my enigmatic point of view’.
As Croll revealed to The Line of Best Fit last year, the song was not inspired by the futuristic metropolis itself, but by his ambitious vision of seeing his music career take him to stages in far-flung nations such as Japan (despite the initial setback of being dropped from his first label):
“I've been a solo artist for six years and it's been incredibly hard work, not only supporting myself but also a band of very good friends. It's always been a goal of mine to tour the world and a place like Japan is a particular fascination - to visit somewhere so far and so different to home. At times, I can find myself becoming jealous watching other bands and artists getting to do this, but I think due to my very competitive nature it drives me more to succeed.”
Last November, Croll’s infectious confession of jealous gained a second life with the release of surreal and comic animated music video by Simon Landrein. It utilizes the simple and clean lines of manga artists such as Fujiko F. Fujio and animators like Hayao Miyazaki. Dashes of blue and red add a dash of color to the animated Croll’s internal escapades, which are catalyzed by the sight of a flashy red-headed rival. Landrein revealed the inspiration for the camera sidekick to It’s Nice That shortly after the music video premiered:
“I wanted to have a main character who’s reluctant towards any demonstrative behavior, someone who is bitter to watch other people’s lives. It’s a contradiction, as the hero imagines the lives of people he doesn’t want to know about. He doesn’t want to be there, so to keep him on track I’ve added this camera character who acts like Jiminy Cricket and pushes him in the right direction.”
The music video followed the release of Dan Croll’s latest EP Tokyo (10 November 2017). It features the original track alongside four individual remixes by Anna of the North, Fractures, C Duncan and Paul Frith.
