The singer-songwriter Santigold has shared a new track titled “Nothing,” along with an accompanying music video. The track comes off of the artist’s upcoming album Spirituals, set to drop on September 9 through Santigold’s label Little Jerk.
“Nothing” uses a variety of electronic synths and effects, including heavy doses of reverb, to create an intriguing, upbeat but somewhat uneasy atmosphere, laying the groundwork for Santigold’s catchy and powerful vocals. The singer-songwriter notes that the song was written “about invisibility. It’s a song for anyone who has not been seen, and for me it was an opportunity to explore how that feels. I wrote Nothing in the midst of the Black Lives Matter protests, and in writing the lyrics I was able to release a heaviness that I did not know I was carrying.”
The official music video for the track, directed by Frank Ockenfels, acts as a short vignette that shows off only a small portion of the track; the length of the video being a mere 50 seconds, compared to the 2 minute 50 second runtime of the entire track. Speaking on her influences and ideas in the new track, Santigold explained that the “video vignette was inspired by a Wangechi Mutu image called Snake Eater. I had seen the image years ago and when I was thinking up visual ideas for this song, this piece came to mind. I loved the idea of a being that is woman but also beyond human in some way, and even unclassifiable. A being for whom there is no name, no category, who is totally unique, and fierce. I wanted to become this type of creature in this video because I don’t believe we have to know how to name or define what we’re seeing to accept that it exists, that it’s beautiful and powerful and worthy of being exactly what it is.”
Listen to the full audio of “Nothing” or watch the short video vignette via YouTube below.
“Nothing” is the third offering that Santigold has released off of Spirituals, following “Ain’t Ready” and “High Priestess.”
Photo Credit: Marv Watson
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