Charli XCX Shares Reflective New Single ‘Camera’

Charli XCX has shared her reflective new single ‘Camera’, accompanied by an Aidan Zamiri-directed video starring Charli XCX collaborator and French cinema icon Vincent Cassel. The track serves as a poignant look at the artist’s internal dialogue as she navigates the dual pressures of her music career and her burgeoning interest in film.

The track is the latest preview of her new album ‘Music, Fashion, Film’, which is released this Friday (July 24) via Atlantic. It follows on from the singles ‘Rock Music’, ‘SS26’ and ‘Wink Wink’.

‘Camera’ is a restrained, mid-tempo slice of guitar-led electronic pop, with the artist once again trading in the harder club sounds associated with her previous work for something hazier and more personal. Lyrically, she appears to address her insecurities about embracing an acting career, singing: “It makes me question what I’m doing / Do I wanna make music / Am I being fucking stupid / If I try to be a girl on the screen when I’m turning 34?”

The video, meanwhile, shows Cassel as an actor struggling on a film set, with the singer directing from behind a massive studio camera. Cassel becomes increasingly frustrated, referencing his iconic pose from La Haine as he points a finger gun at his own head.

Cassel rose to international prominence through his performance in Mathieu Kassovitz’s 1995 film La Haine. The French actor has since appeared in Irréversible, Eastern Promises, Black Swan, Ocean’s Twelve and Jason Bourne.

Aidan Zamiri, meanwhile, is a longstanding collaborator who directed her videos for ‘360’, the Billie Eilish-featuring ‘Guess’, ‘Rock Music’ and ‘Wink Wink’. He also directed Eilish’s ‘Birds Of A Feather’ video and made his feature debut with the mockumentary The Moment.

The black-and-white artwork for ‘Music, Fashion, Film’ was also shot by Zamiri and features John Cale, fashion designer Marc Jacobs and Martin Scorsese.

The artist gave ‘Camera’ its live debut at an intimate Brooklyn pop-up show earlier this month. She also performed unreleased songs ‘Playboy Bunny’ and ‘Take Away The Music’, while Kim Petras, Clairo and Underscores appeared as special guests.

She will make her headline debut at Reading & Leeds next month before beginning a North American arena tour with Underscores in September.