Harry Styles has shared a new video for ‘Aperture’ that sees him battle and eventually befriend his stalker – check it out below.
The soloist and former One Direction star released the new track on Thursday (January 22), marking the first from his upcoming album, ‘Kiss All The Time. Disco Occasionally’. Executive produced by Kid Harpoon, his fourth solo effort is set for release on March 6 – visit here to pre-order.
Yesterday (January 23), Styles shared an accompanying music video that sees him trailed by a man named in the credits only as “Stranger”. The video, directed and written by Aube Perrie, sees him wander alone through an empty hotel as a mystery figure follows in the shadows.
Eventually, the other person – who dons sunglasses and clutches a white plastic shopping bag – makes a lunge at Styles and chases him through the hotel hallways, with the two falling together down a staircase. A fight ensues, with the animosity seemingly dissolving following a Dirty Dancing-esque inspired lift that gives way to a synchronised dance routine.
The video concluded with Styles finally being seen by the hotel employee he was waiting for at the start, and the stranger walks by once again, with the entire sequence revealed to be a fantasy.
‘Aperture’ notably debuts a new electronic-inspired sound for Styles, whose last LP was the synth-pop influenced ‘Harry’s House‘ in 2022. Discussing the sonic shift while talking to BBC Radio 1’s Greg James yesterday, Styles revealed that seeing LCD Soundsystem live inspired his new direction.
“I think the inspiration from them [was], ‘Oh, that’s how I want to feel when I’m on stage’. And then that kind of led to the kind of music I was making,” he said.
He also said he was listening to The Durutti Column and had started going out more, something that also informed the new sound. He later went on to say that much of the album was shaped by becoming an audience member again, following the colossal worldwide trek he embarked on for his ‘Love On Tour’.
“It’s really fun. And I think for me, the most important thing that has happened to me the last like, couple years was, I think it was just about getting on the other side of the audience experience,” he said.
“I think having so many years being on the stage, the last couple years, like, allowed me to be a real audience member and, like, be in the crowd and kind of have a reminder of like, oh, this is why this is special to people, and this is why this feels so good to kind of come together and be with a group of strangers and dance to music. I really experienced that for myself in a way that I hadn’t had much of previously.”
Styles has also shared that he needed to “fall in love with music all over again” after taking three years off after releasing ‘Harry’s House’ in 2022.
NME‘s Rhian Daly gave the single four stars, in a review that read: “It’s also Styles as we’ve not heard him before. Rather than the loosely retro pop-rock of ‘Harry’s House’ or the grand theatrics of ballads like ‘Sign Of The Times’, the star heads in the direction of electronic music.
“‘Aperture’ is propelled by a lightly thumping beat that’s made more or less euphoric by the stabs of house piano that dip in and out, the jittery blasts of distorted fuzz, and the 31-year-old’s resonant delivery in the chorus: “We belong together”. Add in a series of drawn-out, droning chords and it’s (likely) as close as we’re going to get to Styles fronting LCD Soundsystem.”
In support of ‘Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally’, Styles has also announced a huge comeback tour, which will see him play residencies in seven major cities around the world.
The ‘Together, Together’ tour will consist of six nights at London’s Wembley Stadium and a total of 30 shows in New York’s Madison Square Garden, as well as strings of concerts in Amsterdam, São Paulo, Mexico City, Melbourne and Sydney.
In total, Styles will play 50 dates from May to December, and he will be joined by names including Robyn, Shania Twain, Fcukers, Jorja Smith, Jamie xx, Fousheé and Skye Newman. You can see a full list of dates and all ticket information here.
Styles first started teasing his new album last week, through a series of posters with the phrase ‘We Belong Together’ that popped up in cities across the globe. He then sent out a brief, lo-fi voice recording to fans on WhatsApp, which contained audio of him singing the line, “we belong together”.
