Berlin artist Lie Ning has just released Can I Have This Dance: combining music and dance in a hypnotic audiovisual experience.
The multidisciplinary artist Lie Ning is a formidable artist. He brings energy and intensity to music and dance, as well as advocacy for the LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities. Those traits are on display in his latest single, Can I Have This Dance, and its accompanying video.
Produced in collaboration with Parisi (Ed Sheeran, RZA, and Black Eyed Peas are just a few of his credits), the soundscape sets up a foreboding atmosphere. Ultimately though, the track and visuals combine to make a captivating experience.
Can I Have This Dance launches with a velvety string ostinato — its angular rhythms in sync with the sharp movements of Lie Ning. If this forms the rhythmic spine of the track, the pounding drums provide the heartbeat, giving Lie Ning a template from which he can base his mesmeric movements.
Another contributing factor to the track’s atmosphere is the silky baritone of Lie Ning himself. “Tell me what you want to say, give me all your love, don’t save it,” he implores as he’s eventually embraced by two other dancers. As a trio, they seem to move as one organism as Lie Ning purrs, “Can I have this dance.”
Can I Have This Dance is out now. Check out the incredible video below:
