by / Erica Russell
Swedish pop prince Erik Hassle has teamed up with emerging R&B songstress Tinashe on the gorgeously raw “Innocence Lost,” premiered earlier this week on Noisey. Hassle, as per usual, is all soulful falsetto on the new single, invoking a modern-day post-electro Prince with a sensual, sensitive croon that hovers weightlessly over the rich horns and smoky synths that punctuate the track.
The 25 year old songwriter – who recently helped pen the Shakira/Rihanna duet “Can’t Remember To Forget You” – unleashes a darker, more brooding and romantic side of himself on the track, his emotive timbre both complemented and contrasted exquisitely by Tinashe’s silky, celestial vocals on the otherwise gloomy electro-pop duet.
“Innocence Lost,” which is off Hassle’s excellent, haunting ‘Somebody Else’s Party’ EP, is visualized in a slick, lo-fi clip. Completely black and white, the video shows the two artists delicately super-imposed over gritty clips of Downtown Los Angeles, the stark, pseudo-tropical cityscape acting as a glum reminder of the inevitable decay of love.