Santogold, the collaboration between Santi White and former Stiffed bandmate John Hill, first began receiving notice in late 2007, thanks mostly to the release of the single "Creator," which seemed to point White in the direction of an M.I.A. knockoff. The debut full-length, however, shows Santogold to be a unique group, one that pulls equally from dub, pop-punk, hip-hop, electro, and rock without succumbing to the archetypes of any. Much of this is because of the contributions from Hill, who adds plenty of guitars and warm keyboards, encouraging White to fill out the songs, the verses, and the hooks, with her rich Gwen Stefani-meets-Janelle Monáe voice. "I'm a Lady," despite the fact it could belong in the late-'90s pop canon, is delightfully catchy and inviting; "L.E.S. Artistes" sounds like a fuller, brighter Tegan and Sara song; and "My Superman" is the urban 21st century's version of a sultry jazz standard. In fact, Hill is so instrumental in creating the diversity and lushness of sound that the pieces in which he doesn't contribute, or contributes very little, are markedly different. Switch, the producer responsible for M.I.A.'s Kala, shows off his impressive beat-making skills on "Creator," which features White doing the singsongy rap that has helped make Maya Arulpragasam so popular ("Me, I'm a creator, thrill is to make it up/The rules I break got me a place up on the radar"), and the Diplo-helmed "Unstoppable" marries dub and Hollertronix electronica nicely. These are the exceptions to the overall sound, however (and their very rarity makes them so much more appealing, and evidence of the work of a complete artist, not one trying to follow the coattails of another), because most of Santogold lacks that jagged angularity that drives M.I.A.'s records. Instead, the album is informed by pop and good humor, the importance of melody and structure never overshadowed by rhythm and dancefloor-worthiness. This is music that looks outward at the pan-continental landscape while staying firmly adherent to and respectful of its deeply American roots; it's the emerging -- and hopeful -- face of the new millennium, and an altogether shining accomplishment.
Like other folks I know (I see you Phonte), this is my favorite track off the album. Santogold is keeping things very consistent with her imaging. If Kanye had his way, Santi would have been on the Glow In The Dark tour. She is currently out on the road supporting Coldplay before she heads to Japan and all across Europe. Shout out to the homie John Hill for killing yet another t...
More >
Now that the song seems to be past the Bud Light Lime phase, here's a new video from Santogold for Lights Out...Santogold - Lights OutSantogold - Lights Out--------------------------------------------------------MySpace | More MP3s | eMusic | Subscribe To RSS Feed~~
More >
In one of those 6º of separation moments I found myself emailing Justin who runs the Muxtape mixtape-sharing web site wondering why I couldn't register on the site with the username 'Pampelmoose.' He said he'd look into it and also said he enjoys Gang of Four [which is always nice to hear] and that he was surprised to hear that I was living in Portland because that was his hometown - he's now b..
More >
I know I've been taking the "summer hours" concept a little too seriously, but it's hard to do anything but enjoy summer when you have something stuck in your iPod like Top Ranking, Diplo's "mixtape" treatment of Santogold's debut album. Diplo's dub-bass-electro-hop concoction provides a textured playground for Santi White's angelic and sassy brand of new wave. Unreleased mixes of Santi tracks ...
More >
Santi's been sucked into the MTV band-a-week ecosystem, and so after following the script of mildly awkward and innuendo filled skits, it's come time for a Music Television live performance. If you've seen her this past year you pretty much know what you'll get -- White in the middle flanked by her S1W-inspired sidekicks, working Santogold singles "Creator" and "L.E.S. Artistes" -- although thi...
More >
I know I've been taking the "summer hours" concept a little too seriously, but it's hard to do anything but enjoy summer when you have something stuck in your iPod like Top Ranking , Diplo's "mixtape" treatment of Santogold's debut album. Diplo's dub-bass-electro-hop concoction provides a textured playground for Santi White's angelic and sassy brand of new wave—never a dull moment to be sure. .
More >
We haven't posted any Santogold, nay, Santi in quite some time. And there's no better than the present. Kick ass mix from Old Money crew. It's awesome, but can't really expend energy right now. Read on as to why my life rules. Frankly, we don't know how accessible we'll be today. Out til 4:15 in the am doing [read=killing] karaoke for the first time ever, sleeping at a friends apartment, a...
More >
Friday's issue of Washington Square News was the last one of the semester, which was my third writing for the paper. For this final issue, we switched things up a bit, with summer concert and album previews and single-sentence album reviews. Here are my contributions: No Fun Fest May 16 - $18, May 17 - $20, May 18 - $18, Full Festival - $50 The Knitting Factory Avant-garde, noise and ...
More >
--- - |- At EarDrumZ we are always on the lookout for independent artists. I love hearing new and different sounds all the time and one of the best ways to do this is through online music players. Recently, thanks to the VIRV.TV blog, I discovered a great one called The SixtyOne: A Music Adventure. The banner for the61 reads, "radio sucks, so let's do something about it". This music player sit...
More >
Nik KershawSantogoldI discuss the Philly songstress’s 80s-tinged eponymous debut with MOG outsider, the Girlfriend (aka Jill).Me: Santogold have been described as the future of music.The GF: By who?Me: Santogold.The GF: She said it herself?Me: Yeah. "I'm breaking boundaries, creating new genres!" So, when I heard the music, I thought, “I'm back in the 80s here, I'm back in short pants.” Why
More >
Santogold has lashed out against those who term her music 'hip-hop' as "racist".The was reacting against continual classification of her self-titled album as 'hip-hop', 'rap' or 'R&B', especially on online retail sites."It's racist. It's totally racist. Everyone is just so shocked that I don't like R&B. Why does R&B keep coming into my interviews? It's pissing me off."??Santogold with hip hop s...
More >
It's like a dam broke in the hip hop video market - all of a sudden there is a furious flow of killer music vids out. So many appeared over the weekend that I couldn't possible post about each one separately. Since I noticed it via OnSmash, I'll just link to the best ones so you can choose the ones you want to check out... Let me know in the comments which ones you liked and what you thought...
More >
Drew was on hand to catch Santigold perform at the Hollywood Bowl this past weekend. "L.E.S. Artistes" is up top, "Get It Up, "Unstoppable" and "You'll Find a Way" is down bottom."
More >
Spinner is on the Santogold tip this week with a free download of her "Creator" song. This is one of her better tunes, so if you don't have it yet, jump over there and dl it Free and Legal.Santogold on Spinner
More >
Santogold released her first music video today, for her song "L.E.S. Artistes":This video was directed by Nima Nourizadeh and the song is off Santogold's upcoming debut album Creator.A few months ago, I posted the video of Santi performing this live France's Transmusicalles Festival, but this is the first "official" video production from the Brooklyn star.
More >
The debut album from Santogold is red hot and this is the lead off track. Check it out.
More >
So a while back in September, I gave serious kudos to Santogold, who trumps MIA with her energy and frenetic dancehall rap on-stage. Since, she's gotten the Fader cover...and she's been signed to Lizard Kings records.So I've been doing a bit of background research, since her flame seems destined to last much longer than a candle with a little fuse. She was in a punk ska band called Stiffed. Rem...
More >
Another cool track off the awesome Santogold album, Santogold. Killer album. Check out the track. Her performance this past weekend was Hyman's fave at Glastonbury.
More >
| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
|---|---|---|
| 1 L.E.S. Artistes |
|
|
| 2 You'll Find a Way |
|
|
| 3 Shove It |
|
|
| 4 Say Aha |
|
|
| 5 Creator |
|
|
| 6 My Superman |
|
|
| 7 Lights Out |
|
|
| 8 Starstruck |
|
|
| 9 Unstoppable |
|
|
| 10 I'm a Lady |
|
|
| 11 Anne |
|
|
| 12 You'll Find a Way [Switch and Sinden Remix] |
|
|
Click to purchase…
© 2006-2009 Mog Inc. All Rights Reserved
 "Santogold")
