Photo credit: Ellika Henriksson
José González has unveiled the provocative official music video for “A Perfect Storm,” one of the many highlights of his acclaimed new album, Against the Dying of the Light, available now via Mute Records in North America and City Slang for the rest of the world.
“A Perfect Storm” sees González warning against what many AI experts describe as a “race to lose control,” with propulsive rhythmic fingerpicking that builds to a thrillingly distorted peak beneath his intimate vocal performance. Rather than offering easy answers, the Gothenburg, Sweden-based singer-songwriter and guitarist, who has a background in biochemistry, captures the emotional weight of living in this accelerating moment – caught between awe and anxiety, hope and hubris. The immersive, intentionally confrontational new visual adds to the conversation by utilizing AI to further the dialogue on the complicated debate over its applications in society. At the conclusion, the camera pulls back to show the soundstage and the real people involved, then cuts to a blooper reel featuring the “actors” in emotional “behind-the-scenes” moments.
The key here is that these are not actual actors and not actual BTS moments, thereby highlighting the frightening depth of AI's seemingly infinite capabilities. An exclusive YouTube Afterparty followed the premiere of “A Perfect Storm” earlier today, featuring a 15-minute discussion between González and the video directors on the making of the video and their thoughts on AI and its place at the intersection of art and science.
“‘A Perfect Storm’ is about how we ourselves are creating the conditions for a more and more turbulent future,” says José González. “Compared to natural risks, these are man-made and therefore not random.
“And so, having a song about the risk of our own extinction made me wonder how we could make a video to depict this dilemma without being too alarmist. But how to balance the excitement of AI systems and their amazing possibilities while taking the threats to humanity seriously wasn’t obvious. After some back and forth with director Mads Damsbo, we decided to go with an early idea of me on the roof of a bus that goes into a storm and off a cliff – inspired by a quote by Stuart Russell, writer of the main textbook on AI: ‘...We need to recognize the possibility that not only may the bus of humanity be headed towards a cliff, but the steering wheel is missing and the driver is blindfolded.’ The simple idea with a song and video like this is to help create public awareness, with a sense of urgency but without panic. The future will be great if we don’t fuck it up.”
“Prompted by José’s original idea, we at Bacon Lab took the challenge of fully synthesizing a cinematic universe to amplify the message of the song,” says Director Mads Damsbo. “We hope the result will spark a needed discussion on the collective steps we must take through this hurricane that is AI.
“We are both excited and extremely cautious when AI enables filmmakers and artists in ways that previously would have been impossible, but through the making of ‘A Perfect Storm,’ we also learned that AI is not a silver bullet and that humans (still) play a crucial role.”
WATCH “A PERFECT STORM” OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO
WATCH “A PERFECT STORM” YOUTUBE AFTERPARTY
PURCHASE/STREAM AGAINST THE DYING OF THE LIGHT
González’s fifth studio LP and first new collection of original songs in more than four years, Against The Dying Of The Light – which follows, and in many ways serves as a sister volume to, 2021’s acclaimed Local Valley – sees the award-winning artist once again commenting on humanity and its uncertain future through the power of his distinctively engaging, deeply contemplative, acoustic-based songcraft. Inspired by the forward-thinking work of Jonathan Haidt, Liv Boeree, Yuval Harari, and Steven Pinker, González presents a wide-ranging collection of nuanced songs that explore big ideas with clarity and intention. The album explores topics such as game theory, moral philosophy, and the narratives we use to explain our world. González also confronts the ethical ambiguity of modern technology, which drives progress while simultaneously challenging our sense of humanity. These themes are delivered with warmth and immediacy through his intuitive vocals and singularly inventive finger-picking guitar.
Highlights include the soulful “You & We” as well as the dynamic title track, “Against the Dying of the Light,” the latter joined by an official music video, directed by filmmaker Fredrik Egerstrand (known for 2010’s award-winning documentary, The Extraordinary Ordinary Life of José González) and streaming now on YouTube. González’s lighter side is represented by the album’s carefree, Spanish-language first single, “Pajarito,” dedicated to his son, Mateo, and accompanied by a playful official music video inspired by the interaction of Swedish folk art with artificial intelligence.
“Against The Dying Of The Light is a collection of songs reflecting on humanity,” says González. “Who we are – tribes of sentient apes with stories that sometimes are incompatible with each other and tools that could eventually lead to dystopia or extinction. It’s also a reflection of how we create hurdles to human flourishing by stubbornly clinging to dogmatic ideologies, where people follow dudes who pretend to know shit they don’t.
“As a concerned world citizen, I wrote these songs as a reflection of our times. Times of amazing progress, but also worrying backslides to dogmatic tribal ideologies and an extremely uncertain future. These are songs about how we can navigate humanity towards flourishing on an individual and a collective level. They can be listened to just for the sounds, harmonies, and rhythms, but the lyrics are meant to inspire people to engage and take action by collaborating to solve collective problems. For humanism and enlightenment values and against the dying of the light.”
WATCH “YOU & WE” LYRIC VIDEO
WATCH “AGAINST THE DYING OF THE LIGHT” OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO WATCH "PAJARITO" OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO
WATCH “PAJARITO” HOME VIDEO González is celebrating the arrival of Against the Dying of the Light with a wide-ranging international headline tour. US dates begin April 21 at Boston, MA’s Royale and continue through mid-May. Support throughout comes from Toronto, ON-based folk-pop musician Abby Sage. For complete details and ticket information, please visit jose-gonzalez.com/tour-dates.
González recently took the 10% Pledge, a public commitment to give 10% of his income to effective charities fighting extreme poverty via Giving What We Can. Members of his Pledge Club have thus far donated over $175,000 to charitable organizations such as Helen Keller International, Against Malaria Foundation, New Incentives, and the GiveWell Top Charities Fund. For more information or to request an invitation to González’s Pledge Club, please visit givewithjose.com.
JOSÉ GONZÁLEZ - TOUR 2026
APRIL
21 - Boston, MA - Royale
22 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer
23 - Washington, DC - 9:30 CLub
25 - New York, NY - Brooklyn Steel
27 - Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre
28 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
MAY
1 - Seattle, WA - SODO
2 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
3 - San Francisco, CA - Castro Theater (SOLD OUT)
4 - San Francisco, CA - Bimbos
5 - Los Angeles, CA - The Bellwether
8 - Austin, TX - Mohawk Outside
9 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theater
11 - Denver, CO - Mission Ballroom
JUNE
14 – Stockholm, Sweden – Rosendal Garden Party
JULY
3 – Gent, Belgium – Gent Jazz
9 – Huesca, Spain – Pirineos Sur
11 – Feldkirch, Austria – Poolbar
17 – Göteborg, Sweden – Slakthuset Block Party
OCTOBER
28 – Barcelona, Spain – Paral-lel 62
29 – Valencia, Spain – La Rambleta
30 – Murcia, Spain – Sala Mamba!
31 – Sevilla, Spain – Cartuja Center Cite
NOVEMBER
1 – Lisboa, Portugal – Misty Festival @ Coliseu Lisboa
2 – Porto, Portugal – Misty Festival @ Coliseu do Porto
14 – Vienna, Austria – Gasometer
15 – Zürich, Switzerland – Volkshaus
17 – Milan, Italy – Alcatraz
18 – München, Germany – Muffathalle
19 – Prague, Czech Republic – Archa+
20 – Berlin, Germany – Columbiahalle
21 – Frankfurt, Germany – Zoom
23 – Utrecht, Netherlands – Tivoli Ronda
24 – Paris, France – Le Trianon
25 – Brussels, Belgium – Ancienne Belgique
26 – London, United Kingdom – Eventim Apollo
Tickets can be found HERE.
Album art
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