In an age of straight-to-the-chorus TikTok hits, there’s something to be said for a song that takes a little bit longer to unfold. At nearly ten minutes long, Jordan Lewis’ debut single “Desolation Shores” stretches out for miles. Sprawling, epic, and existential, “Desolation Shores” is the Bowie-esque anthem we didn’t know we’ve been waiting for. And funnily enough, Lewis never really intended to share it.
Ten years in the making, “Desolation Shores” addresses the vast uncertainty and insecurities Lewis felt while finding his voice as an artist. The songwriter and engineer (and longtime collaborator with Travis Scott) has pretty much always been behind the scenes. The story goes a little like this: after moving to LA, Lewis began engineering for The-Dream and Tricky Stewart (Beyoncé, Justin Bieber, Rihanna), and worked with hip hop giants Kanye West, Drake, and Miguel, as well as Scott. Building up his production chops for nearly a decade, the songwriter struggled to find his own voice and share his original work. Until now.
The music video (directed by Peter Landsworth) is every bit as captivating and experimental as the song itself. Playing off the cinematic textures and sweeping arrangements of the track, the artistic visuals (showing Lewis destroying a television in slow-motion for ten minutes) capture the essence of the song in all its angst and glory.
On the video, Jordan Lewis shares: “I think the slow motion really captures the cathartic feeling I wanted the song to have. Because it’s a ten-minute song, there’s a lot of time to fill, but I think the song really lends itself to this kind of video. As always, I’m super amazed at how Peter Landsworth is able to translate my songs into visuals. He always seems to unlock things that I didn’t know were there.”
Stream the music video for “Desolation Shores” in our exclusive premiere below, and check out the single, streaming everywhere now.
