After returning with new song "High Priestess" back in May, Santigold has announced her fourth studio album Spirituals, arriving September 9 on her label Little Jerk Records.
Alongside the album announcement, she's also shared new single "Ain't Ready." In a press release accompanying the single release, 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.
Spirituals was largely recorded during the 2020 lockdown and saw Santigold virtually collaborate with a host of producers and contributors — Rostam, Boys Noize, Dre Skull, Nick Zinner, SBTRKT, Illangelo, Ricky Blaze, Lido and more appear on the record.
"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," she said of Spirituals in a statement. "California was on fire, we were hiding from a plague, the social justice protests were unfolding. 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.
"I loved the idea of calling it Spirituals because it touched on the idea of Negro spirituals, which were songs that served the purpose of getting Black people through the un-get-throughable," she continued. "In the absence of physical freedom, spirituals have traditionally been music whose sound and physical performance allow its participants to feel transcendental freedom in the moment. That's what this record did for me."
Spirituals is also meant to be a "multisensory experience" that not only includes music and visuals, but also a forthcoming natural skincare line and a tea that share the name of the album. Santigold will also be releasing a new podcast that'll feature interviews with other artists and visionaries about some of the themes explored on the album.
Check out "Ain't Ready," plus the Spirituals tracklist below.
Spirituals:
Alongside the album announcement, she's also shared new single "Ain't Ready." In a press release accompanying the single release, 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.
Spirituals was largely recorded during the 2020 lockdown and saw Santigold virtually collaborate with a host of producers and contributors — Rostam, Boys Noize, Dre Skull, Nick Zinner, SBTRKT, Illangelo, Ricky Blaze, Lido and more appear on the record.
"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," she said of Spirituals in a statement. "California was on fire, we were hiding from a plague, the social justice protests were unfolding. 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.
"I loved the idea of calling it Spirituals because it touched on the idea of Negro spirituals, which were songs that served the purpose of getting Black people through the un-get-throughable," she continued. "In the absence of physical freedom, spirituals have traditionally been music whose sound and physical performance allow its participants to feel transcendental freedom in the moment. That's what this record did for me."
Spirituals is also meant to be a "multisensory experience" that not only includes music and visuals, but also a forthcoming natural skincare line and a tea that share the name of the album. Santigold will also be releasing a new podcast that'll feature interviews with other artists and visionaries about some of the themes explored on the album.
Check out "Ain't Ready," plus the Spirituals tracklist below.
Spirituals:
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