8bit vibes, bubblegum pop hooks and retro-futuristic unicycle dancers!
It's Sugar Rush, the brand new single from Japanese sentient mannequins FEMM!
Sugar Rush refers to becoming stuck in the perilously sweet molasses of love, losing all grip on reason and rationality – it's a love song, but a dark and dangerous one, with a bright 8bit electronic hook that is offset by FEMM's cold and digitalised vocals, resulting in an addictive bittersweet tone.
The video's directed by Ryo Noguchi, a member of U-min and WORLD ORDER who has collaborated as a dancer and choreographer with world-famous artists such as will.i.am, Missy Elliott and Marquese "Nonstop" Scott. It adopts a luscious film noir visual style that evokes the darkness of love and features a mesmerising performance by the world-class unicycle dance troupe MIRACLE, of the Kawasaki Watarida Unicycle Club. Dressed in sweeping ankle-length skirts and fishbowl helmets fitted with stardust fairy lights, these graceful droid-like "Sugarbots" are what the video’s director refers to as a "human special effect".