Skott’s “Stay Off My Mind” is a bittersweet bop

Skott is a Scandinavian artist whose floaty-feeling voice and crystalline songs have already won her shout outs from Lorde and Katy Perry. Following a couple of a dark-hued pop releases in 2016, a great new one, “Stay Off My Mind” has a slightly more carefree sound, with a jaunty piano line, and a beat built around a shuffling Peter Bjorn And John sample.

The upbeat elements to her new music are paired with touchingly personal elements: the symbol Skott paints below her eye is a emblem used on her family’s farm, and she has said that “Stay Off My Mind” was inspired by the recent death of a close friend. In a cinematic new video, she dresses in red leathers with a biker lover, and gives an emotive performance against a velvet backdrop, singing the bittersweet lyrics with elegant hand gestures.

Over email, Skott explained more about the video: “It was supposed to be shot in London, but things were a little rushed...When I got home, I realized we didn't have enough footage to make the original video work. So I called up two friends, last minute, at two in the morning, and we shot a few scenes in my bedroom. These shots kind of became the main theme of the video.

“It's a love song, but to me it's also about a friend who passed away. I want the video to celebrate memories and focus on what you've had, rather than what you've lost. I think that comes through in the song, it's lively, has a lot of energy and brightness."

Watch the video above.