Santigold Confirms September Release For Fourth Album 'Spirituals', Drops New Single Ain't Ready
Wednesday, 15 June 2022
Written by Jon Stickler
Photo: Frank Ockenfels
Santigold has announced her fourth album, 'Spirituals'.
The follow-up to 2018's mixtape 'I Don't Want: The Gold Fire Sessions' will arrive on September 9. To accompany the news, the Philadelphia artist has dropped a video for the atmospheric new single, Ain't Ready, which is anchored by bassy, thumping drums that contrast with Santigold's falsetto vocals. It follows the previously unveiled cut High Priestess. Commenting on it, Santigold said:
"Ain't Ready is a song I started with Illangelo. Dre Skull and Sbtrkt came on board to help bring it home, another true collaboration of such distinct and amazing talent. It was one of those songs where as soon as I opened my mouth the whole melody just poured out. There were no words but all the emotion was there. To me, the song sounded full of struggle and perseverance. It sounded like a battle, and I wanted the production to sound tough, to mirror that grit. I struggled to find the right lyrics at first, but when I got them right, and I started singing them one night in my studio alone, I cried. This song was my own battle song. It’s about taking the hits that life brings and getting back up. It’s about change and moving forward. It's about faith and vision. And it’s about stepping into your own power."
Set to arrive via her own label, Little Jerk Records, the full-length was recorded mostly during the 2020 lockdown and boasts contributions from Rostam, Boys Noize, and others. She explained: "All of a sudden there I was with three small children out of school—just-turned-two-year-old twins and a six-year-old—I was cooking, cleaning, doing laundry and changing diapers from morning to night, with three little kids coming in and out of my bed throughout each night like musical chairs. I was losing touch with the artist me, stuck in a part of myself that was too small. I felt the other parts of me were shrinking, disappearing."
She added: "Recording this album was a way back to myself after being stuck in survival mode. It wasn’t until I made the space to create that I realized I wasn’t only creating music but a lifeline. I’d never written lyrics faster in my life. After having total writer’s block, they started pouring out. I decided to create the future, to look towards where we are going, to create beauty and pull towards that beauty. I need that for myself, but it’s also there for whoever else needs it."
'Spirituals' tracklist:
1. My Horror
2. Nothing
3. High Priestess
4. Ushers Of The New World
5. Witness
6. Shake
7. The Lasty
8. No Paradise
9. Ain't Ready
10. Fall First
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