Santigold may have secretly been creating in the shadows last year, but for 2016 she’s returning in a big way. After debuting her bouncy new record “Chasing Shadows”, yesterday on Annie Mac’s BBC 1 radio show, Santigold returned today with an Elliott Lester-directed visual.
The lead track off her forthcoming album 99¢, the follow-up to 2012’s Master Of My Make-Believe, is an irresistible, soaring pocket of sweet-dripped falsetto’s over an empathic Vampire Weekend’s Rostam Batmanglij production. Also featuring backing vocals from the West Los Angeles Children’s Choir.
“‘Chasing Shadows’ is about with the conflicted reality of an artist’s life. Caught in the web we spin around ourselves, a mixture of hubris and the guise of perfection, we fear being swallowed up by our own ambition. Never in the moment, as quickly as we reach our goals, our gaze shifts to those still looming in the distance. We judge ourselves harshly for not being further on the path and revel in the anxiety of racing the rate of consumption. The lyrics weigh the value of going against the current to maintain artistic integrity, and the feelings of isolation and vacancy bred by a persona that is always “on” and ready for show,” says Santigold.
Along with video premiering exclusively on Tidal, which you can watch here, Santigold made a fun infomercial to accompany the track. In the ‘Shadow Eraser Cream and Face Mask’ clip, Santi says, promises to “eliminate shadows and wrinkles.”
See the complete tracklist for 99¢, due out February 26 via Atlantic Records, below.
99¢ Tracklist:
01. Can’t Get Enough of Myself (feat. B.C.)
02. Big Boss Big Time Business
03. Banshee
04. Chasing Shadows
05. Walking in a Circle
06. Who Be Lovin Me (feat. ILOVEMAKONNEN)
07. Rendezvous Girl
08. Before the Fire
09. All I Got
10. Outside the War
11.Run the Races
12. Who I Thought You Were