After the success of “Cold Heart” with Dua Lipa and Elton John, PNAU is back with a new single. This time, the Australian DJ trio tapped Troye Sivan for “You Know What I Need,” one of his only songs released this year.
“We are so proud to share our new song with Troye Sivan!” PNAU’s Nick Littlemore tells Rolling Stone. “We went deep on this one with legendary pianist Reuben James, we will see you on the dance floor.”
The AI-generated music video transforms a cell phone-recorded video of Sivan into an outer space, trippy psychedelic visual inspired by the “stargate sequence from 2001: Space Odyssey,” according to video producer Kuba Matka.
“The music video is based around adventures on the astral plane,” Littlemore explains. “PNAU have always been inspired by dream states and the great unknown.” (When Matka asked for directives, PNAU just responded with “Can you make it look more trippy?”)
America might be deep into winter, but Sivan — based across the globe in Australia — is ready to make the song the soundtrack of his summer. “I’m so happy this song is coming out just before the Australian summer – it sounds like a beach festival to me and I am stoked to have it out,” he says.
“But I can’t keeping picking up each time you call/If everything just tears us down,” sings Sivan before the chorus. “You’re all that I want/You’re all that I need/And if it hurts baby/I don’t want it.”
2022 has proved to be a successful year for PNAU thanks to their 2021 remix of “Cold Heart,” which went seven times platinum. The track was the seventh most-streamed song on Apple Music worldwide and reached No. 10 on Billboard‘s Hot 100. (The track was also the most-Shazamed song of the year.)
After releasing “Angel Baby” last year, Sivan has only released songs “Wait” and “Trouble” from Paramount+ film Three Months, in which Sivan stars as Caleb Kahn, a teenager who finds out he’s been exposed to HIV. He’s also set to star in The Weeknd-created series The Idol.
As for PNAU, they released a remix of Elvis Presley’s “Don’t Fly Away,” which was featured in the Elvis biopic. They also released remixes of “2 Be Loved (Am I Ready)” by Lizzo and remixed Diana Ross’s “Turn Up the Sunshine.”