Ones To Watch at Old Blue Last, 38 Great Eastern St, EC2A 3ES
By Sharon O’Connell
Posted: Tue May 6
Santogold may sound like the name of a glucose-packed ‘health’ drink, but it is, in fact, the alias of Brooklyn-based Philadelphian Santi White, whose CV makes for far more interesting reading than that of your average new arrival. For (crucial) starters, she studied Caribbean and West African drumming at college, but has also worked as an A&R rep for Epic, produced the debut album by Philly hip hop-soul artist Res and fronted a ska-punk band. More recently, she’s wowed Björk with her ‘You’ll Find A Way’ from 2007 and sang The Jam’s ‘Pretty Green’ on Mark Ronson’s ‘Version’ LP. Now, Santogold is stepping into the solo spotlight.
Her self-titled debut album has been trailed by single ‘LES Artistes’, a killer mix of strutting, post-punk guitar, prowling bass, clacking percussion and attractively adenoidal vocals; if you haven’t heard it, imagine Karen O fronting The Police circa ‘Zenyatta Mondatta’. There’s more than a dash of reggae pop on ‘Santogold’, but it’s also filled with the throb of dub, boomtastic flirtations with bashment and grime and the odd bit of Pixies-style grunge-pop. Already murmurs are of Santogold being ‘the American MIA’ (she also favours minimal beats and mash-ups and has used producers Diplo and Switch), but – no criticism intended – Ms White is a far poppier and more immediate concern (those days in A&R gave her a sharp ear for what works). Her Scala show on June 3 is sure to sell out, so see her now as part of the OnesToWatch series, before she goes truly global. Further listening: www.myspace.com/santogold
