Swedish alt-pop visionary RIVER returns with her most vulnerable release to date, ‘Lost in the Ocean,’ a haunting meditation on self-sabotage, detachment, and the hollow pursuit for something more. The single is accompanied by artwork by Gabriela Danerlöv, and a striking video, conceptualised by RIVER, immersing the viewer in a surreal, submerged world.

“When I wrote ‘Lost in the ocean’, I tried to see myself through the eyes of those I left behind,” RIVER shares. “To me, the song is about uncompromisingly choosing your own path, driven by the fear of commitment. It’s my confession of how I used relationships as a substance to escape loneliness, or as stepping stones in my chase for self-actualization. It’s basically about destructiveness, and the hollow feeling of always wanting more.”

Produced by collaborators August Vinberg, Johannes Henriksson, and Rickard Andersson, ‘Lost in the Ocean’ is set against a backdrop of ghostly textures and cinematic minimalism. Drawing from dream-pop, avant-garde soul, and stripped alt-pop, the team has created a soundscape that is both emotionally fragile and atmospherically rich – a track that refuses to look away from the pain it reveals.

The accompanying video, directed by RIVER and shot by Peter Milanov, plunges the viewer into a hazy, submerged reality. Wearing a custom piece by Emily Gullbo, RIVER drifts through a weightless, crystalline expanse. This suggestive journey culminates in the striking image of an umbilical cord, tethering her to another version of herself.

“The video symbolizes my experience of creative devotion separating me from the real world, creating a space that is both beautiful and repulsive in its self-glorification,” RIVER explains. “I saw this more as an art installation than a traditional music video; a creature who has cannibalized intimacy to feed her own art. The umbilical cord represents being stuck in old patterns, nourished by the validation of others without giving anything back.”