As the world leans into being alone together amid quarantine, Major Lazer, Marcus Mumford and 208 artists from 28 countries around the globe are demonstrating that a sense of unity is possible, even while we’re all separated.
Out Wednesday (April 22), the video for “Lay Your Head on Me” — the recent collaborative single from the two acts — features 208 dancers and musicians performing along with the song, with these clips patched together into a cohesive and legitimately heartwarming performance. Among the clips, you’ll see Mumford singing from his bedroom and the top of his kitchen counter, Diplo playing the guitar on his rain-soaked patio in Los Angeles, Walshy Fire on drums, Ape Drums doing a spinning handstand and song co-writer MØ dancing around in her living room.
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Additionally, eagle eyes will spot Israeli pop duo Lola Marsh, London dancer Ashraf Ejjbair and the kids from Dream Catchers Academy, a school of orphan children in Nigeria. Two Brazilian brothers, one of whom is blind, is shown learning the routine from his brother. I’m not crying, you’re crying.
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The routine was choreographed by Ryan Heffington, the Los Angeles-based artist known for his work with Sia, Florence + The Machine, Christine & The Queens and more. Heffington’s livestream dance classes have also become a viral phenomenon during quarantine, with tens of thousands of viewers joining him to dance via Instagram Stories during the last six weeks.
The video was directed by Filip Nilsson, who assembled the 177 clips into the cohesive routine.
“When we started working with this simple idea over a month ago,” Nilsson is quoted in a statement, “COVID-19 had just started to get a grip of the world. During these weeks we have seen tapes from people all over the world. The response was way more than could have been expected and it was amazing to see the different interpretations of what we requested from people. It’s so touching that all these people took the time to learn the dance routine or to play the music in such a short amount of time. The positivity and honest love they shared is something I really wanted to come through in this video.”
Watch the “Lay Your Head on Me” video below.