Exclusive Video Premiere: ‘Life on Earth,’ Tomorrow’s World

ABOVE: “TOMORROW’S WORLD” DIRECTOR OLIVIER BABINET

With its synth-pop sound and space-y vocals, “Life on Earth” by Tomorrow’s World might call to mind the bouncing electro beat of New Young Pony Club or the looped lyrics of French ambient-pop pioneers, Air. As it turns out, that’s exactly the unexpected equation behind this duo, named for a long-running British tech show and comprised of Lou Hayter (who played keyboard in NYPC) and Jean-Benoît Dunckel (one-half of Air).

The latest video from their self-titled debut, which we’re exclusively premiering here, is directed by Olivier Babinet. The French director was inspired to write the screenplay after mentoring students at Claude Debussy Junior High School, where the video was shot, in one of Paris’ poorest suburbs. While the concept of the short and the single’s retro-futuristic sound may seem at odds, the two are a perfect match, much like the duo itself.

Filmed in slow motion, with lingering, intimate close-ups on its subjects, the video and single capture the excitement, weirdness, and occasional weightlessness of navigating adolescence. So perfect, in fact, is the pairing that film and music fans alike will have a sequel to look forward to in the coming year. Babinet is set to return to the school in 2014 to film a feature-length documentary, which Tomorrow’s World has already agreed to give its signature space-pop treatment.

FOR MORE ON TOMORROW’S WORLD AND ITS SELF-TITLED DEBUT, AVAILABLE NOW, PLEASE CHECK OUT THE DUO’S WEBSITE.