Indie pop star St. Vincent has released another version of her track “Slow Disco,” called “Slow Slow Disco,” a stripped back version of the track. This is the artist’s third version of the track, which features nothing but a simple piano accompanying the singer’s voice.
“Songs are living things. They grow, they evolve, they change their moods and personalities over time,” the artist stated on the YouTube description for the track. “The latest version of ‘Slow Disco’ originally found on MASSEDUCTION.”
Earlier this year St. Vincent, who’s real name is Annie Clark, released “Fast Slow Disco,” a more upbeat electronic dance pop inspired version of the track. Clark starred in the music video, as a protagonist in the middle of an eclectic dance party filled with leather-and-chain clothed men.
This direction for the song was allegedly inspired by Taylor Swift, who has worked closely with musician and record producer Jack Antonoff. Antonoff worked as a producer on St. Vincent’s MASSEDUCATION album in 2017 as well.
“I don’t want to start a weird rumour or anything,” Clark began in an interview with Beats 1 Radio“ but I swear to God, you know because Jack Antonoff’s bros with Taylor Swift because they work together a lot, and I feel like Taylor was like, ‘You should make this a pop song’.”
“Slow Disco,” was originally a more somber song, with a more lush and orchestral backing track that fit into the lyrics and Clark’s raw emotions. The song credits stated that Joy Williams co-wrote the song, which was firther explained in an interview with Pitchfork.
“Years ago I was going to write a song for one of Joy’s solo albums and I had this melody saved up in my iPhone. I had the line ‘I’m so glad I came but I can’t wait to leave,’ and we kicked things around in a room for a little bit,” Clark explained in the interview. “We didn’t finish it, and she didn’t end up using it, but that line had really stuck with me—it’s about how the life you’re actually living and the life that you should be living are running parallel, and how one haunts the other. So I gutted the song and rewrote all the words. But I also wanted to be respectful of Joy’s contribution to the start of the it.”
MASSEDUCATION was released in late 2017, peaking at number 10 on the Billboard 200, becoming the first time the artist was able to debut on the top 10 chart. The album was included on various top ten lists, including our own in 2017.
“The thesis for the album very well could be a lyric from this song: ‘I can’t turn off what turns me on.’ It was the last track to come together,”Clark explained regarding the album and title track. “The words to all the verses and everything just came out in a torrent, and I sent them to [producer] Jack [Antonoff]. I was like, ‘Is this too oblique?’ Jack, who is the ultimate cheerleader, just said, “No, this is really interesting. Keep going.”
Photo Credit: Owen Ela
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