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While it’s bound to give you a few laughs, Foreign Air’s new music video for “Royalty” (Nettwerk Music Group) also hits on some powerful underlying themes at play in our world today. The clip features the duo of Jesse Clasen and Jacob Michael performing the song, dressed in full Victorian regalia. Their clothing doesn’t quite match the setting, an outdoor camper where you’d probably be dressed in shorts and a t-shirt.

The contrast between their lavish attire and the modest setting of the camper emphasizes a surreal portrait of ambition, longing, and the illusion of luxury. Directed by Josh Thomas, the video plays right off of the song’s themes of fame, fantasy, and the pursuit of more. Social media has helped create this era of competition and delusion, which “Royalty” is a prescient commentary on. It’s both playful but also wistful.

Discussing the video, Foreign Air share:

“The video was such a surreal experience to make. We spent the day dressed in these elaborate Victorian costumes, sipping from empty chalices, and interacting with each other in a space that was way too small for the kind of grandeur we were imagining.

“There’s so much craziness happening in the world right now—from friends losing their homes in the LA fires to the constant political turmoil coming out of the White House. It feels like we’re in a never-ending state of chaos. Honestly, we just wanted to take a break from all the heaviness and make something that would maybe make people laugh.”

The band continues:

“When we started brainstorming the concept, we kept coming back to the idea of two people living in a world built entirely on their own imagination, where success isn’t about money, power, or status, but about seeing possibility in whatever surrounds you. We spent a lot of time searching for the perfect Victorian-esque location. Then we remembered that during the pandemic, a friend of ours bought this baby blue 1970s camper, and we immediately thought it would be the perfect setting. The contrast of lavish Victorian costumes inside a run-down camper felt like a fun, surreal way to capture the tension between fantasy and reality.

“At its core, ‘Royalty’ plays with that idea—poking fun at the illusion of luxury while also embracing the beauty of dreaming beyond your circumstances. Maybe ‘living like royalty’ is just a state of mind waiting for you in your driveway.”

For the time period in which they emerged, Foreign Air has made some impressive strides. They released their debut album, Good Morning Stranger, in the fall of 2020, followed by their 2022 sophomore LP, Hello Sunshine. Despite the inherent challenges of releasing music during this time, both albums found an audience. They have accumulated over 200 million streams from both records, and it has not gone unnoticed by their musical peers. They have gone on tour with acts such as Phantogram, Bishop Briggs, Bleachers, and Anna Shoemaker. Their dark, grooving alternative anthems have really found an audience from both the rock and the pop worlds. The duo is currently working on new music and is excited to share more of their offbeat universe with their growing audience.

Foreign Air “Royalty” single artwork

Foreign Air “Royalty” single artwork

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