As we approach the third (fourth? Has anyone been counting?) month of self-isolation, many have already experienced being thrown into the virtual whirlwind of long-distance dating, or even full-on relationships. From one week to the next, humanity had entered an exclusively digital age of socialising, and it will be interesting to see whether the online dynamics will survive the “real”, post-lockdown world.

DOLLY BING BING’s latest explosive pop track, “Kusje”, explores the “extremely tough and harsh” realities of cyberlove. The song is based on DOLLY’s “own real experience of taking a plane across the world to reach a lover” – something that we might be able to do very soon.

“‘Kusje’ is about online love and how to make the fantasies on the screen and the pleasures in the phone come true,” explains DOLLY.

“It is absolutely wonderful that you can find soulmates or lovers from an entirely different part of the world and deeply connect with them through online media,” the artist tells HighClouds. “Yet the limits of the screen and the boundaries of the digital are frustrating; when you notice that real love is blossoming, you have to break the distance and the virtual and you have to see each other in real life.”

DOLLY BING BING describes the corona-lockdown as “just a reinforcement or a repetition of that frustration”.

“[It] made me realize all the more how extremely valuable physical contact, hugs, real sex (no cybersex), caresses, real-life encounters, intimate touch and immediate interactions are and how vital the ‘aura of closeness’ is in order to feel happy as a human being and to make a relationship work.”

“Kusje” was written by DOLLY in collaboration with New York producer ABSRDST, who has already worked for the likes of Dorian Electra, GIMI and Diveo. Just like a long-distance relationship, the collaboration was conducted mostly online.

“I was noticed by ABSRDST through Instagram, so our initial point of contact also happened online,” DOLLY BING BING tells HighClouds. “The collaboration grew naturally and (even pre-Corona) through Zoom, video chats and online exchange, a format making international cross-pollination possible that couldn’t exist before the internet and – even though I love working live in the more slow-paced tempo of the physical studio – a contemporary style of creation the fast-forward me truly believes in. I felt ABSRDST’s and my own taste and affinities were in line and on point so the way the track took shape was swift and fresh.”

Luckily for DOLLY fans, the duo “already have another track finished and are working on a whole set of new songs.”

The video for “Kusje”, which we are honoured to premiere today, compliments the track perfectly. It depicts DOLLY BING BING in an apocalyptic scenery, training with a bodybuilder, riding dirt bikes, and throwing an end-of-the-world party which we would love to have attended ourselves (we’re sure our invitation got lost in the mail).

To help create the choreography, DOLLY enlisted her live show background dancers, voguers Tine Van de Looverbosch and Michael De Geyter, who form the aptly-named BING BING CLUB. The visuals, which were directed by Kyky Kong Kong, take place on a dumpsite in the industrial harbour of the city of Ghent, Belgium.

“It was very challenging and even dangerous to film this video as the dumpsite activities were still going on and all the staff there was at work while we were doing our shoot and filming our stunts,” DOLLY tells HighClouds. “Clouds of metal dust were non-stop flying around and on top of that I had to perform my own stunts: like dancing on top of a driving Hummer, sword fighting, climbing up on piles of metal trash and, the most terrifying stunt I have ever done in my entire life, driving around between the dumpsite trucks on the back of a motorbike driven by a world champion dirt bike rider (a tough lady!) at 200km/h speed, unprotected, in my lingerie outfit. It felt like all the air was pushed out of my lungs and my adrenaline levels rose to max capacity. I never wish to repeat a stunt like that! But: everything for the arts!”

Coming with this release, DOLLY has launched a limited-edition collection which includes a T-shirt and mask scarf, which are modelled by DOLLY and her friend, the Belgian visual artist Rinus Van de Velde. Watch the video below and don’t forget to add “Kusje” to your playlists tomorrow.