Santigold Interview

Releasing her third album, ‘99 Cents’ on 22nd January, the quirky, unique sound of Santigold is back. With a broad range of influences, standout image and lyrical prowess, Santigold is an artist you can’t ignore. BBM’s Ellie Berckmans caught up with her to find out just what the new record has in store for us.

Hi Santi! How are you? Where in the world are you at the moment?
I’m good, thank you. I’m in Brooklyn, New York. I’m headed to a video edit session.

Have you had a good week?
[Laughs] It’s been exhausting! I’m really tired and I think I’m getting sick. And I’m really excited for the holidays but I’ve got so much to do before then so I am just grinding right now.

What kind of sound – production-wise – did you have in the back of your mind, prior to entering the studio to record the new album?
I didn’t really have any sound in mind, actually, I just waved in and started making music. I usually do it that way – I just let the process be and see how things come out.

How does this album differ from your previous two?
I think this one is a little bit broader. There are some influences that maybe weren’t on the other records. I got some African music influences on this one and there’s a lot of sub base mixed with goth influences and R&B! I consider my music genre-less; I think that’s one of the defining characters of my music. All my albums have a collage style and this characteristic is always consistent on Santigold records.

What specific themes do the songs on ’99 Cents’ cover?
It talks a lot about consumption and narcissism and the fact that everything is a product. The constant marketing of ourselves as a product. It also talks about the challenges as an artist in this creative climate and the personal struggle that I’ve had in there. It talks about a lot of things. It really is just a picture of pop culture.

Are there any lyrical highlights?
The lyrics of ‘Can’t Get Enough Of Myself’ are definitely about narcissism. My goal of the album was to really tackle these issues but from a very playful approach so the songs are humorous and fun but at the same time they are topical. ‘Walking In Circles’ is definitely one as well.

What’s the vision behind the album’s cover art?
As I was listening to the songs, I wondered “What is the theme of this album?” I thought it was really important to make this a fun album. I wanted to take all the concepts and play with them and really highlight the uncertainty of it all, but in a really fun and playful way. I had this idea for the record cover which was basically me climbing into a bag full of these items that represent all the different areas in my life. I really thought me climbing into the bag, shrink-wrapping myself with the items and strapping a 99 cents tag on it, would be the perfect way to sum it all up [Laughs].

What can people expect to see at a live performance of your new material?
I think we’re going to play with the themes a bit. We already started doing some performances and it’s been so much fun. We opened this show with my two dancers and they are basically sitting in a chair eating throughout the entire first song [Laughs]. And they’re doing these dances with selfie sticks and it’s just a lot of fun. I wanted to talk about these things but I didn’t want it to be heavy. There is so much going on, it’s absurd, but you can really make great art out of it and I really have been having fun with it for the stage show.

What do you feel distinguishes “an artist” from just a musician?
An artist is someone who creates something new and special. They are basically creating and pushing boundaries. It is someone who explores themselves and their environment in their creativity. A musician is someone who plays music but you can be a wonderful musician but not create a single thing. You can be a copycat musician and just write stuff that’s already out there. A lot of musicians aren’t that great of an artist. I think there are plenty of amazing artists out there right now, I just don’t know if we are getting a chance to hear a lot of them in pop music.

If you had the opportunity to change something about the pop music industry nowadays what would it be?
I wish pop industry would be broader. There are so many amazing types of music and even different kinds of pop music; I just feel we don’t get to hear enough of it. I think we have such a narrow definition of pop tunes. It is really unfair to the world ‘cause there is so much wonderful music out there and nobody is getting to hear as much. And I feel like the music we are hearing on the radio sounds all so similar to each other. There is great music out there, but I just feel like we can have a way more varied group of music. It’s a shame that the definition of what has become known as pop music is so narrow.

What are your immediate music career goals?
Get a broader audience than I’ve ever had before and reach more people who can connect with my music.

Will you be doing a lot of touring? Any highlights on the calendar so far?
Yes, I’m sure, but the schedule isn’t locked in yet. I don’t really know where I am going yet, but I’m hoping it’s going to be all over the world. I have been to a lot of places in the world but I’d love to go to India, Iceland and South Africa – I’ve never been there.

By Ellie Berckmans