New music from Santigold is a great way to start the year!
“Chasing Shadows” is the latest track from her forthcoming third album 99¢, which will be out February 26. Of the song, Santi notes:
“ ‘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.”
The press release for the song also notes that she’s been creating comical infomercials for each of the songs on the album. These videos serve to further extend the album’s exploration of the commercial nature of our world and the ways we package ourselves and our lives for consumption. “We have no illusion that we don’t live in this world where everything is packaged. People’s lives, persona, everything, is deliberate, and mediated. It can be dark and haunting and tricky, and freak us out, but it can be also be silly and fun and we can learn to play with it,” she says. The use of playful satire, social critique, and self-examination to explore these themes is reflected in the album’s cover art, a collaboration with photographer Haruhiko Kawaguchi (photographer Hal), which finds Santigold shrink-wrapped amongst her cluttered possessions ready for the store shelves.
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