The Darkness That You Fear

Album: For That Beautiful Feeling (2021)
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Songfacts®:

  • The Chemical Brothers created this exuberant rush of optimism during the worst of the COVID pandemic. It finds them seeing light at the end of the tunnel and a brighter, more open future. "The song was started in March 2020 and finished in March 2021," Tom Rowlands of The Chemicals told Apple Music. "It was something we came back to, day after day, as it always gave a little blast of hope every time we stepped into its world."
  • The Chemical Brothers built the summery, psychedelic track around two distinct and disparate vocal samples:

    Let your heart see the colors all around you
    And the darkness that you fear will disappear


    "The Senses of Our World" was a minor hit in 1970 for The Bugaloos, a group from the children's TV show of the same name.

    I'll be loving you
    Yes I will
    I'll be loving you


    "I'll Be Loving You" was a 1967 northern soul number by American rhythm and blues band Soul Brothers Six.
  • Bristol-based director Ruffmercy (Thom Yorke, Run The Jewels, DJ Shadow) created the video. The clip combines archive rave footage from the 1990s with hand-painted Super 8 film textures and hand-drawn animation. "I love using color to create chaos and evoke emotions and this was the perfect project to do that," said Ruffmercy.

    The director added: "When I first heard the song I immediately connected with the theme and the overall positive vibe. New government rules for relaxing lockdown had been announced and combined with the sun shining, it left me feeling positive about the forthcoming summer. It also triggered a strong sense of nostalgia that led to me going back to look for visual inspiration from the period in time when I first discovered The Chemical Brothers in the mid-'90s."
  • The BBC chose "The Darkness That Your Fear" as the music for all the trailers for their coverage of UEFA Euro 2021.

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