English singer Will Joseph Cook has released single Be Around Me, featuring Chloe Moriondo. The video for the song premiered on YouTube on Thursday 18th February. The single is a re-release of a track from Cook’s second album Something To Feel Good About, which came out in November 2020.
Cook took to Instagram to announce the video, posting: “THE VID IS UP @chloemoriondo u rok thank u… mad that we pulled this together from our bedrooms. shoutout the internet. pog moves @bertieegilbert and @ornsack with the tekkers.” American singer-songwriter Moriondo posted a clip of the video, simply writing the lyric: “can’t get you out of my brain.”
The cute duet focuses on the thrills and anxieties of being in a blossoming relationship. The video, starring both Cook and Moriondo, takes inspiration from the internet of the early noughties, and features creative use of greenscreens and backdrops. It was directed by Bertie Gilbert, who has also directed music videos for Cook’s 2020 single DOWNDOWNDOWN! and Dodie’s 2017 track You.
The pair connected over the TikTok app, and recorded each of their sections on separate continents, with Cook in the UK and Moriondo in the US. Cook said about the track: “I first came across Chloe’s music after she used the ‘Be Around Me’ audio on TikTok, so it’s crazy that that led us to an actual collab. The first pass Chloe sent over was super instant, she crushed the tone straight away. The journey I’ve been on with this track has been wild, I love how realised it sounds as a duet.”
The indie singer-songwriter, who is from Tunbridge Wells, began making music as a teenager. Cook’s first single Streets of Paris was released in 2015, and his debut album, Sweet Dreamer, followed in 2017. He has played a variety of big-name festivals such as SXSW, Reading and Leeds, and Glastonbury.
Moriondo rose to fame through her YouTube channel, where she posts indie-pop original songs as well as covers. She released her debut album Rabbit Hearted in 2018, and her EP Spirit Orb came out in 2020. She is well-known for her support of the LGBTQ+ community.
