Recording artist Lido uses Canoo EV to convey futuristic cool in his latest video

When you first glance at the Canoo EV, sexy is not the word that comes to mind. Richard Kim, the vehicle’s designer, describes it as minimalistic and zen. Detractors grant it all the excitement of a 1990s minivan — maybe an Oldsmobile Silhouette or Toyota Previa — except the Canoo doesn’t know which end is forward.

On the other hand, influential ultra-cool Los Angeles-based musician Lido knows a thing or two about cool. He featured the Canoo EV in the video of his new single, which was released today.

The trendsetting Norwegian producer and remixer calls the song “Postclubridehomemusic.” In the video, Lido zooms through the city, with the urban environment becoming a blur of color and light. The video has futuristic imagery and portrays the Canoo as a self-driving vehicle. (It’s not autonomous yet, but the company has aspirations for self-driving.)

If Lido’s style is post-club, Canoo’s style is post-SUV. At least, that’s what Ulrich Kranz, the company’s CEO, called it when I met with him at the company’s LA headquarters in November. Kranz said:

We had to come up with a design that hasn’t been there yet. All the cars that are out there look like combustion engine. They might be electric, but you don’t know.

We said okay, let’s do the post-SUV vehicle that fulfills the same needs [as an SUV]. It has a huge interior space. It’s easy to transport gear or your family. It has a high seating position but with a way smaller footprint, reasonably priced, and zero emissions. This was the idea.

Lido has amassed a giant fan base. He collaborates with a long list of modern superstars like Halsey, Chance The Rapper, Banks, Jaden Smith, Jojo, and Diplo.

Lido produced six tracks on Halsey’s highly acclaimed 2020 album, Manic, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard Top 200. The folks from Canoo hope Lido’s choice to use its loft-on-wheels vehicle in the video will catapult the vehicle to mass recognition. However, you never really get a good clear look at the Canoo during the video’s four minutes of playtime. So here it is:

Other recent celebrity endorsements of new electric vehicles include LeBron James serving as the pitchman for the GMC Hummer EV and Idris Elba backing the Ford Mustang Mach-E. Those personalities are good matches with those vehicles, just as the Euro/LA urban vibe of Lido works for Canoo.

In January, Canoo opened the waitlist for its EV, which is only available via a monthly subscription. The Canoo arrives in Los Angeles in 2021. Other cities will soon follow.