Nordic singer and songwriter Klangstof — which, translated from Norwegian, means something like "echo dust" — emerged onto the scene early this year with "Hostage," a beautiful and swelling tangle of warm instrumentals and tense emotions. All this is captured in the song's accompanying video, which premieres today on The FADER.

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Directed by Menno, it depicts a veteran named Adrien — the king who has fallen that Klangstof sings about, perhaps — who lives deep in the forest, alone but for his inner demons and vivid reminders of wartime. It's dark, and not exactly easy to watch, but there is beauty in this existential struggle.

“When I met Menno, we shared the same initial idea," Klangstof wrote in an email to The FADER. "'Hostage’ is about feeling annoyingly uncomfortable. In my case, this usually results in me locking myself up in the studio, staring at some synthesizers. In Adrien’s case it results in anger and uncontrollable behavior."

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"But," he added, "at the end of the day I really see the beauty in those moments as well. I believe people are their realest when they feel down and locked up in their own minds.”

Klangstof's "Hostage" is out now via Mind of A Genius, the home of GEN F alum Gallant, among others; check out the video above.