MAGNET Exclusive: Premiere Of Arsun’s “If You Must Leave” Video

Babe I Hear Thunder In Your Heart (Dirty Laundry Music) isn’t so much a first taste of Arsun Sorrenti as it is neatly assembled proof that he’s a musical force to be reckoned with. It’s something Cat Power’s Chan Marshall knew six years ago, when Sorrenti released his propulsive debut single, “White Light.” On the strength of that tune, Marshall snatched him up as an opening act—and the two have continued to collaborate. Most recently, Sorrenti played rhythm guitar for Cat Power’s tribute to Dylan’s 1966 “Royal Albert Hall Concert,” performing on last year’s acclaimed live LP Cat Power Sings Dylan.

The multitalented New York City artist is the 24-year-old son of iconic fashion photographer Mario Sorrenti. A fan of punk and classic rock from an early age, he was still a student at New York City’s Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School Of Music & Art And Performing Arts when he began assembling his own recording studio. Babe I Hear Thunder In Your Heart collects just about every single Sorrenti has released since 2018. An outlier, “If You Must Leave” has never been issued, though online footage exists of Sorrenti performing it live. The tune sounds like a throwback to another era—specifically 1965, when Dylan was busy pissing off folk purists by going electric.

“The song evolved from my interest in an old gospel song performed by the blues artist Blind Connie Williams,” says Sorrenti. “I’m proud of the lyrics. They’re very simple while still maintaining mystery—and they also take a nice, unexpected twist at the end.”

Sorrenti’s girlfriend, Tasmin Meyer Ersahin, directed the video, shooting random scenes of interest in Brooklyn and her beau’s Manhattan neighborhood. “We had a Bolex on hand, and it was snowing pretty hard,” says Sorrenti. “We jumped at the opportunity to film in the interesting conditions. That footage became the springboard for the whole video.”

We’re proud to premiere Arsun’s “If You Must Leave” video.

—Hobart Rowland