Love Again (Cedric Gervais song)

Background and release

After the success of Summertime Sadness, recorded by US singer Lana Del Rey, Gervais signed to Interscope Records and its sister label Polydor (UK), who both also released Summertime Sadness. Written and recorded by Ali Tamposi, the song was co-produced by Gervais, Jared Shelton, Tommy Dingwall and Alexa Dedlow.

The song was released on worldwide digital retailers on 14 October 2014. Promoting the song, an audio video uploaded by Interscope was released on 15 October 2014. On 24 November 2014, an extended version of the song was released on Beatport via Polydor (UK). On 9 October 2014, the song premiered on Sirius XM's BPM which was solicited by Interscope. In an interview on Y100 Miami, Gervais said he would perform Love Again live at the Electric Daisy Carnival in Miami, Florida (15 June 2014). He also performed Summertime Sadness at the Carnival. During an interview with Y100 Miami, Gervais explained about the record: "This is the first single off of my deal with Interscope Records which I'm very excited about [...] to be part of the team, [i]t's a great label and [...] it's featuring Ali Tamposi [...] she's an amazing song-writer."

On the set of the music video, Tamposi explained the background and meaning of the song: "I wrote this song in ... one of those dark moments in a relationship with someone with somebody that I felt that would ... bring us, jolt us back together, it's a sensitive subject." She explained the concept of the video in the "Making of" video uploaded by Interscope Records, saying that she had the dream of the music video, seeing herself as a little child. Gervais also discussed his production of the song: “When I produce a song, the first thing that I look for is obviously the lyrics and meaning of the song, but what I was taken by was Ali’s voice in the song. I felt the song the first time I heard it… the lyrics, her voice, everything was just on point.” On 1 January 2015, the song was released in various countries worldwide via Polydor (its Australian release was on 23 January 2015). In Italy, the song was sent to Mainstream radio on 14 November 2014.

Critical reception

"Love Again" was praised by music critics. Andrew Spada of Dancing Astronaut was positive upon the song and praised Tamposi's vocals: "A triumphant return to original production duties, Love Again sees Gervais firing on all production cylinders, delivering a rousing peak time effort that will quickly leave its mark on the global nightlife scene." Chris Caruso of djtimes.com gave a positive review, praising Tamposi's vocals and the music video: "Ali Tamposi delivers huge vocals and emotive lyrics for the radio-ready track, and the video—directed by ENDS—aims to convey the track’s drama with black-and-white visuals paired with striking visual effects."

Lucas Villa for axs.com also gave a positive report: "She finds her footing in the EDM rush, delivering a riveting vocal performance filled with hope. Gervais and Tamposi sound primed to mend broken hearts on the dancefloor with this progressive house gem." Bradley Stern of muumuse.com gave a positive review also praising Tamposi's vocals: "The track is, naturally, an arena-sized floor-filler. It’s also fairly by-the-numbers: A slow piano lead, a surging build-up, a powerfully crooned and perfectly catchy chorus courtesy of Miss Tamposi and then, boom: The drop. That’s festival-ready EDM in 2014 for ya!" Emily Hall of edm.com gave a comment upon Gervais' production: "This power-driving club mix employs Gervais’ quintessential style flawlessly, and proves that Gervais still has his magic touch in the house scene." Hall praised Tamposi's vocals: "Her incredible vocals offer an upbeat and positive vibe to Love Again.".

Music video

A music video provided for the song premiered on Vevo on 24 November 2014 by Interscope Geffen A&M. It was directed by Ends and was filmed in black and white. Discussing the music video, Gervais said “We wanted to create something a little different, with a story for the video inspired by Ali’s lyrics, and I think we’ve created a truly stunning visual piece.” Tamposi said: "The concept was driven by, as strange as it sounds, a dream that I had about a year ago of just seeing myself as a little child at a beauty pageant. And so I … really brought it to life by just bringing the pain and throwing the objects and just really building upon the original concept.”

Content and synopsis

The video begins with both Tamposi and Gervais sitting still, in different rooms, one white and one black. There are two children in both rooms, playing with paint and smashing it on the wall, and later seen dancing randomly. In the middle of the video are people dancing to the song and at the same time throwing paint at each other. At the end of the video, Gervais and Tamposi walk toward each other.

Credits

Source:

1. "Love Again" – 3:47

1. "Love Again" (Extended Version) - 6:31

1. "Love Again" (Eat More Cake Remix) - 6:21
2. "Love Again" (Sharam Acid House Remix) - 7:38

1. "Love Again" (Acoustic) - 3:42

Credits and personnel

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