Santigold has announced she will release new music, a summer-inspired spontaneous mixtape-style project she recorded with Mixpak Records producer Dre Skull, entitled I Don’t Want: The Gold Fire Sessions. It will be out on July 27th through Downtown Records.
Santigold and Dre Skull initially met in a writing session and bonded over their shared passion for Reggae and Afro-Caribbean music. Dre Skull, known for working across dancehall, hip hop, and electronic music as a DJ, producer and founder of Mixpak Records became an instant creative comrade of Santi’s. They decided to explore their ideas for a mixtape, which ultimately grew into a 10 song recording session, which they came to call The Gold Fire Sessions.
Over the course of two weeks, they recorded the bulk of the songs, playing with Reggae and Afro-Caribbean influences while pushing and pulling their pillars with Santi’s singular point of view. As the writing and recording gained steam, Santi unearthed a few gems (ideas she had started with producers Ricky Blaze and Diplo) from her unreleased vaults and she and Dre reworked them, threading together classic Santigold ideas with the spirit of this new work. The incisive social commentary, humor, and daredevil sound that have become hallmarks of her work take on exciting new forms on this project. Unlike other Santigold albums, which are recorded over long periods and heavily curated and edited by Santi, I Don’t Want is a loose and spontaneous project, a snapshot of the infectious energy of the sessions with Dre Skull.
In celebration of the release, Santigold will be doing festival dates and select dates on Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill 20th Anniversary tour, full dates below.
Santigold Live Dates
9/12: Portland, OR @ Veterans Memorial Coliseum +
9/14: Vancouver, BC @ Deer Lake Park +
9/15: Seattle, WA @ ShoWare Center +
9/21: Las Vegas, NV @ Life is Beautiful
9/22: Phoenix, AZ @ Comerica Theatre +
9/26: Denver, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre +
9/29: Long Beach, CA @ Music Tastes Good
+ = with Lauryn Hill