Swedish singer-songwriter Albin Lee Meldau has a profoundly arresting voice that delivers an emotional gut punch with every brooding phrase.
In his chilling new video for the song "Lou Lou," Meldau takes a single, wrenching scene and freezes it in time. Made with one unflinching, steadicam shot, it's an uncomfortably intimate look at the moment paramedics arrive to save a woman who's suffering a drug overdose. Nobody moves. Everything has stopped. It feels particularly helpless and hopeless.
"For me, this video is real," Meldau tells NPR Music in an email. "It's a dark story about being in the midst of addiction, mental illness and drug abuse. This song was written about a girl. Unfortunately in my country, she's one of many."
"Lou Lou" is from Meldau's Lovers EP, released late last year. He's since signed with Astralwerks, with a full-length coming later this year.
![](https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Albin+Lee+Meldau%27s+Unsettling+Take+On+Mental+Illness+And+Addiction&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxODcyMTgzMDEyMTgxMTY5NjYxN2I4OQ004))
300x250 Ad
300x250 Ad