Watch Lydia Ainsworth’s Scaled-Back Music Video for “Afterglow”

Lydia Ainsworth’s music video for her new single “Afterglow” demonstrates her evolving, yet austere musical vision. Ainsworth, a 2015 Best of What’s Next pick, has an expansive range of influences all the way from Verdi to Nirvana.

This video, directed by Lydia’s sister Abby and premiered by The Fader, is said to be inspired by an Art Deco statue—the song hums (literally) with mystery and mysticism. Ainsworth’s dexterity and comfort with vocal textures is mesmerizing, and, perhaps, signal her potential to expand the frontiers of minimalist pop.

Discussing the inspiration behind the song, Ainsworth told The Fader:

I was living in LA at the time I wrote the song. After spending a day producing the instrumental in Burbank with Jim-E Stack and a French bulldog named Peaches I brought the track home for a walk around Echo Park Lake. By the lake lives a beautiful Art Deco statue named ‘Nuestra Señora Reina de Los Angeles’ (Queen of the Angels). Walking around just after sunset, drenched in a feeling of disconnect and isolation I found comfort in the Queen of the Angels. She gave me the inspiration for the lyrics and melody of the song. It was as if she was singing them to me.