The Story

The inspiration for “Lover Costing Average” came from observing the dating culture in today’s world, where apps and algorithms often dictate our choices.

The song is the story of an investor playboy who maintains multiple intimate relationships simultaneously, treating them like investments to see which one yields the best return. He’s a strategist, regularly evaluating his options and weighing the potential outcomes of each relationship and doesn’t seem to be asking himself the question whether relationships can be approached like investments. For him, they can.

Intellectually one might ask whether doing so is good or bad, right or wrong. Practically, in the real world, this is nothing unheard of, but emotionally, of course, the topic is hugely sensitive.

However, this is one of my studies in dualism, which is the overarching theme of my “Player Characters” album. As we humans have a capacity to be both right and wrong and to use things in our lives for good and bad depending on the purpose, “Player Characters” is one study examining this single by single.

Before going further, just to be clear, I am not saying that I’m doing this.

This song is not autobiographical.

I’m neither saying that I have done this, or that anyone should.

This is simply a character study about a playboy-type character who is orientated towards maximizing his own benefit and value in stock markets, relationships, and probably elsewhere too. This song is an examination of that theme and that character, and before me it has been studied by several authors, directors and artists.

For example, the movies “American Psycho” and “The Wolf Of Wall Street” are extreme examples of this type of psychopathy. Rappers often sing about this lifestyle as well. European cinema has explored this through films like Fellini’s ‘La Dolce Vita,’ where characters pursue hedonistic lifestyles while treating relationships as transactions, or the aristocratic court cultures of places like Versailles, where human worth was measured purely by social position and wealth rather than skill. For me, this behavior feels like a pursuit of proving oneself important in life where each of us are just trying to matter in our own ways.

The Music

As the basic undertone of “Player Characters” album is quite serious, I needed a more danceable track with which I could end the album’s promotion.

As potential references I considered Electric Light Orchestra’s “All over the world”, Banananrama’s “Preacher man” and Madonna’s “Material Girl” and after my producer did his thing, I’m very pleased with the result. Also, any of the aforementioned songs would make a nice live performance mashup still with “Lover Costing Average”!

Thus, musically, “Lover Costing Average” ended up blending elements of late-80s synth-pop and contemporary electronic sounds to create a soundscape that strives for being catchy while discussing a thought-provoking topic. I wanted the upbeat melody to contrast with the introspective lyrics to mirror the duality of the album’s theme.

The production process was, again, iterative, with several versions of the song being tested before settling on the final arrangement. Juho’s attention to detail and creativity were instrumental in bringing the song to life, and I am eternally grateful for his contribution.

The Visuals

The idea for the cover art came again from the book “El Club Dumas”. There, a knight rides towards a walled castle. The tower usually symbolizes knowledge, and being surrounded by a wall signifies something being hidden.

So what this image most likely symbolizes is a quest to gain new knowledge, especially as the knight is riding a horse. These factors make this image a symbol of the “Hero’s Journey”, the monomyth described by Joseph Campbell. He studied world myths and found stories repeated in the cultural heritage of every nation. One of these is the Hero’s Journey, where, either willingly or due to circumstances, the hero embarks on a journey, accompanied by a guide or teacher, faces a monster/difficulty, and returns as a hero. We know this from the Grimm and Disney fairy tales where the hero also gets the princess and half the kingdom.

Finally, the finger to the lips signifies that the journey is “secret,” personal, and individual, meaning no one else can judge whether the adventurer is doing right or wrong. This likely refers to personally discovered truths that work only for oneself, and this is very much what the investor/playboy character of “Lover Costing Average” is about. He doesn’t have a moral compass, because he thinks opportunistically.

Also, because the character’s gaze in the reference image is direct to the viewer, they are breaking the so-called fourth wall. By doing so the character communicates to the viewer about their personal journey and inner truth rather than what they themselves have yet discovered. Who knows what kind of secret lies in the towers of the castle, surrounded by the wall? We don’t even know if the knight will ever make it there.

My cover art was photographed not against a medieval castle, because I had access to none, but against the backdrop of the 18th-century church in my hometown. The difference is the single church tower that represents a single path to truth that I share with you, the observer. But what that truth is, remains a secret. Which is why in “Lover Costing Average” I sing: “Silence is golden so you’ll take your time”.

The Message

All in all, “Lover Costing Average” is more than just a song about relationships; it is a reflection on the human behavior in the digital age.

It asks listeners to consider the value they place on their relationships and the choices they make in pursuit of happiness. I leave the question open-ended and invite you to draw your own conclusions about the nature of love and the cost of emotional investment.

Listen to the song here.