Words By: Jason Russo

Pop oddball Jelly Crystal has released the video for his single “I Don’t Like Dancing.” Contrary to the title, the track is a perfectly danceable bop with 70s inspired guitar riffs and infectiously stylized lyrics. Jelly Crystal maintains his Gothenburg-inspired sound and aesthetic while transcending into entirely new realms of pop and dance music.

“I Don’t Like Dancing” is pure glam-rock, evoking the nostalgia of the 70s with the futuristic themes and vocals of the current cutting-edge trends in the pop/rock scene. “It seems like I have no chance to create hits for kids, so this is for the rest of us,” Jelly Crystal said of the track. “Especially for the really old people that have dance band music as their pick of choice. Also, I wanted to make it clear once and for all that I don’t like dancing, I just wanted to sound like a Swedish dance band.”

The video for “I Don’t Like Dancing” has, arguably, one of the best openings of a music video this year with a goldfish being transformed into a glowing crystal. Jelly Crystal collects the crystal and oddly moves around a café, eyeing the patrons like they are his meal instead of the coffee. As the video progresses, we see that Jelly Crystal is actually an alien roaming the human world, stealing human’s souls by transforming them into crystals with his glowing, purple eyes. By the end of the video, he transforms into a glowing equilibrium and shoots outwards back into the universe.

The video’s charm comes from its eccentricity and overall campy presentation. It’s reminiscent of Harry Styles’ “Adore You” or the work of Alfie Templeman or Father John Misty. Of the video, its directors Lisa Pyk and Michelle Eismann shared: “We wanted to create a mysterious sci-fi with Jelly Crystal in the lead role as an alien from a distant galaxy. Dressed in human disguise in the form of a perfect suit, he dances a slow, mesmerizing, life-threatening dance, walking around on the streets of Stockholm, collecting crystals that are inside human souls. When we wrote the idea, we were inspired by old sci-fi with fun trick shots interspersed with new age elements such as crystal healing.”

Beginning with his 2017 eponymous EP, Jelly Crystal debuted in the music world as solo project for artist and singer Filip Johnson. Based in Sweden, his pop flare and eccentric visuals give him a unique angle in the glam and retro-pop world. He released a slew of successful singles, including “Now Awake” which has garnered half a million streams on Spotify. His second EP released in 2020 featured a dreamy collaboration with Kamohelo and solidified his sound Beatles-inspired sound with a modern twist. His latest single “I Don’t Like Dancing” is his first of 2021 and is sure to be followed by more equally eccentric and engaging tracks in the year to come. Stay tuned for more from Jelly Crystal!

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