Santogold (album)

Santogold (retitled later Santigold) is the debut studio album by Santigold (who performed as Santogold at the time of the album's release). It was released on April 29, 2008 in the United States through Downtown Records and on May 12 in the United Kingdom through Lizard King and Atlantic Records. The album was recorded within eight weeks in New York City at Schoolhouse and Pitch Black Studios. It was written and produced primarily by Santigold and former Stiffed bandmate John Hill, alongside contributions from other producers, including Diplo, Switch and Disco D, and vocal appearances from Spank Rock and Trouble Andrew.

Santogold
Studio album by Santigold
Released	April 29, 2008 (2008-04-29)
Recorded	2007
Studio	Schoolhouse (New York) Pitch Black (Brooklyn)
Genre	New wave electro indie rock dub pop reggae grime
Length	41:19
Label	Downtown Lizard King Atlantic
Producer	Santigold John Hill Switch Disco D Diplo Freq Nasty Jonnie "Most" Davis
Santigold chronology
Santogold (2008) Top Ranking: A Diplo Dub (2008)
Singles from Santogold
"Creator" Released: February 24, 2008 "L.E.S. Artistes" Released: May 5, 2008 "Lights Out" Released: August 11, 2008 "Say Aha" Released: November 24, 2008

The album incorporates a variety of musical styles, such as new wave, punk, electro, reggae and dub, with the aim of defying boundaries and genre classification. This genre-defying approach awarded the album with praise from music critics. It earned multiple spots on music publications' year-end lists of the best albums of the year, as well as on several decade-end lists. The record charted in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Netherlands, France and Belgium, and spawned the singles "Creator", "L.E.S. Artistes", "Lights Out", and "Say Aha".

Recording, music and development

Santogold was written and recorded in the span of eight weeks.[1] When working on the album, Santigold aimed to defy boundaries and genre classifications, and the expectations from a black woman to sing R&B.[2] She says she was "able to work with all these genres that are typically sub-cultural, like dub or punk or something, and then, by writing in a way that had hooks, made it accessible to everyone."[3] Despite the album also being released on Lizard King Records, Santigold had left the label prior to the release of the album, saying that they "didn't allow me any freedoms. The label was a joke and I'll say that on the record. They weren't involved at all and pretty much got in the way."[4] By the time the album was finished, she signed to Atlantic Records, whom she says loved the album and asked her to not change anything on it.[1] The track "My Superman" was inspired by the 1980 song "Red Light" by Siouxsie and the Banshees, and contains an interpolation of it.[5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	77/100[6]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[7]
The A.V. Club	A−[8]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[9]
The Guardian	[10]
The Independent	[11]
MSN Music (Consumer Guide)	A−[12]
NME	8/10[13]
Pitchfork	7.1/10[14]
Rolling Stone	[15]
Spin	[16]

Santogold received acclaim from music critics.[17][18] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 77, based on 27 reviews.[6] The album was noted for its eclectic sound and blend of various musical genres, including new wave, electro, indie rock, dub, post-punk, reggae, grime, ska, and hip hop,[16][19][20][7][21] and was positively compared to various acts, such as M.I.A., Pixies, Blondie, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Grace Jones, Debbie Harry, Goldfrapp, The Go-Go's, Joe Strummer, and The Slits.[22][14] Will Hermes of Rolling Stone called it "a visionary album" and "one of the year's most unique debuts," and stated that despite being influenced by other acts, Santigold "ultimately sounds like her own damn movement."[15] Writing for NME, Priya Elan felt the album "reveals a glittery crazy-paved path towards a brave new musical future," and commended it for stylistically veering from one track to another while still remaining a cohesive body of work.[13]

AllMusic critic Marisa Brown called Santogold an album "that looks outward at the pan-continental landscape while staying firmly adherent to and respectful of its deeply American roots; this is the emerging—and hopeful—face of the new millennium, and an altogether shining accomplishment."[7] The Village Voice wrote, "With her eponymous debut's deft mix of dap, punk, rock, pop, house, reggae, and hip-hop, she won't completely live down associations with the famous Sri Lankan (whom she also counts as a friend), but the result emerges as much more than a mere imitation."[6]

Accolades

Santogold was ranked among the best albums of 2008 by numerous publications. Billboard named it the second best album of 2008,[23] while Rolling Stone,[24] Spin,[25] and New York all listed the album at number 6 on their year-end lists.[23] Pazz & Jop ranked it at number 7 on their annual list.[26] NME also ranked it at number 7,[27] while Slant Magazine placed it at number 9.[22] Other publications who featured Santogold on their year-end lists include Q, The Guardian, Pitchfork, Consequence of Sound, Paste, PopMatters, Drowned in Sound, Gigwise, Mixmag, musicOMH, Blender, and more.[23]

The album was also included in lists ranking the best albums of the 2000s (decade). Complex ranked it at number 26 on their list,[28] as well as at number 24 on their "100 Best Albums of the Complex Decade" list, which includes albums released from 2002–2012.[29] Slant Magazine placed the album at number 35 on their "Top 250 Albums of the 2000s" list,[30] while Kitsap Sun and Les Inrockuptibles ranked it at number 66 and 76, respectively.[23] In their "50 Greatest Albums of Our Lifetime" list, which includes albums from 2004–2014, Clash ranked Santogold at number 41.[31]

Commercial performance

As of 2012, Santogold has sold 225,000 copies and 932,000 individual downloads in United States according to Nielsen Soundscan.[32] In 2009 the album was certified silver by BPI.[33] In 2010 it was awarded a gold certification from the Independent Music Companies Association which indicates 100,000 sales across Europe.[34]

Track listing

Santogold – Standard edition[35]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"L.E.S. Artistes"	Santi White John Hill	Jonnie "Most" Davis White Hill	3:24
2.	"You'll Find a Way"	White Hill Chris Feinstein	Jonnie "Most" Davis White Hill Switch^[a]	3:00
3.	"Shove It" (featuring Spank Rock)	White Hill Naeem Juwan David Shayman	Disco D White Hill Switch^[a]	3:46
4.	"Say Aha"	White Hill	White Hill Switch^[a]	3:35
5.	"Creator" (Freq Nasty vs. Switch)	White Hill David Taylor Darin McFayden	Freq Nasty Switch	3:33
6.	"My Superman"	White Hill Wesley Pentz	Hill Diplo	3:00
7.	"Lights Out"	White Hill Feinstein	White Hill	3:12
8.	"Starstruck"	White Hill	Hill Switch^[a] Diplo^[a]	3:54
9.	"Unstoppable"	White Pentz	Diplo Hill^[a]	3:32
10.	"I'm a Lady" (featuring Trouble Andrew)	White Hill Andrew Feinstein	White Hill	3:43
11.	"Anne"	White Hill Taylor	White Hill Switch	3:28
12.	"You'll Find a Way" (Switch and Sinden remix)	White Hill Feinstein	Switch Sinden	3:12
Total length:				41:19

Santogold – Japanese edition (bonus tracks)[36]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"Your Voice"	White Chuck Treece Clifford Pusey Matt Schleck	White Hill	3:58
14.	"L.E.S. Artistes" (Switch remix)	White Hill	Switch	5:14
Total length:				50:31

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies an additional producer

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Santogold.[37]

Musicians Santi White – vocals (all tracks), guitar (track 1), keyboards (tracks 1, 4) John Hill – bass, guitar (track 1–4, 7, 10), keyboards (track 1, 3, 4, 10), John Morrical – organ (track 2), keyboards (track 10) Chuck Treece – drums Chris Feinstein – guitar (tracks 2, 4, 7, 10) Joao Salomao – guitar (tracks 4, 10) Alex Lipsen – keyboards (tracks 7, 10) Alfonzo Hunter – horns (tracks 3, 4) K. Louis – horns (tracks 3, 4) L. Benjamin – horns (tracks 3, 4) Mike Dillon – percussion (track 4) Spank Rock – additional vocals (track 3) Trouble Andrew – additional vocals (track 10) Artwork Isabelle Lumpkin – artwork, design Amanda Chiu – design, layout

Production Santi White – production (tracks 1–4, 7, 10, 11) John Hill – production (tracks 1–4, 6–8, 10, 11, 13, 14), additional production (track 9) Switch – production (track 5, 11, 12), additional production (track 2–4, 8) Diplo – production (tracks 6, 9), additional production (track 8) Jonnie "Most" Davis – production (tracks 1, 2) Disco D – production (track 3) Freq Nasty – production (track 5) Jayson Jackson – executive production Technical Santi White – recording (tracks 1, 2), mixing (tracks 1, 2, 7) John Hill – recording (tracks 1–4, 7, 10), mixing (tracks 1, 2, 6–8, 10, 11), engineering (tracks 1–4, 7, 10), programming (tracks 3, 4) John Morrical – mixing (tracks 1, 2, 7, 10) Vaughan Merrick – mixing (tracks 1, 3, 6, 9, 10) Dan Carey – mixing (track 4) Switch – mixing (track 5) Disco D – programming (track 3) Dr. Israel – programming (track 4) Ted Jensen – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2008) Peak position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[38] 25 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[39] 34 French Albums (SNEP)[40] 110 Irish Albums (IRMA)[41] 45 UK Albums (OCC)[42] 26 US Billboard 200[43] 74 US Independent Albums (Billboard)[44] 6 US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[45] 2

Year-end charts Chart (2008) Peak position US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[46] 10 US Independent Albums (Billboard)[47] 41 Chart (2009) Peak position US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[48] 12

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[49]	Silver	60,000^^
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Ref.
United States	April 29, 2008	Downtown	[50]
United Kingdom	May 12, 2008	Lizard King Atlantic	[19][51]
Various		Lizard King	[52]
Canada	September 16, 2008	Downtown	[53]

References

1. Robinson, Peter (May 12, 2008). "Santogold Interview". PopJustice. Retrieved May 12, 2008.
2. Tom Thorogood (April 23, 2008). "Santogold Interview". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved May 13, 2008.
3. Nicholson, Rebecca (May 19, 2008). "Santogold and the genre problem". The Lipster. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
4. "Santo Claws: talking S1W, M.I.A., and Mark Ronson with Santogold". Drowned in Sound. April 17, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
5. Hresko, Lisa (April 28, 2008). "All That Glitters Is Santogold". CMJ. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
6. "Reviews for Santogold by Santogold". Metacritic. Retrieved May 12, 2008.
7. Brown, Marisa. "Santogold – Santogold". AllMusic. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
8. Koski, Genevieve (April 28, 2008). "Santogold: Santogold". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
9. Greenblatt, Leah (April 18, 2008). "Santogold". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 12, 2008.
10. Sullivan, Caroline (May 9, 2008). "Santogold, Santogold". The Guardian. Retrieved May 12, 2008.
11. Gill, Andy (May 16, 2008). "Album: Santogold, Santogold (Lizard King/Atlantic)". The Independent. Archived from the original on November 10, 2012. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
12. Christgau, Robert (June 2008). "Consumer Guide". MSN Music. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
13. Elan, Priya (May 8, 2008). "Santogold: Santogold". NME. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2008.
14. Ewing, Tom (May 7, 2008). "Santogold: Santogold". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
15. Hermes, Will (May 1, 2008). "Santogold : Santogold". Rolling Stone (1053): 83. Archived from the original on May 8, 2008. Retrieved May 12, 2008.
16. Walters, Barry (June 2008). "Hip Priestess". Spin. 24 (6): 112. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
17. "Santogold: 'I didn't expect this'". The Independent. January 9, 2009. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
18. "Santogold changes name to Santigold". BrooklynVegan. February 11, 2009. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
19. Pauline Gumbs, Alexis (April 29, 2008). "Santogold: Santogold". PopMatters. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
20. Lea, Ryan (April 30, 2018). "Santogold Turns 10". Stereogum. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
21. "Santogold: Kaleidoscopic Pop". NPR. May 15, 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
22. "The 25 Best Albums & Singles of 2008". Slant Magazine. December 15, 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
23. "Santogold - Santogold". Acclaimed Music. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
24. "Rolling Stone's Top 50 Albums Of 2008". Stereogum. December 10, 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
25. "Santogold, Santogold (Downtown)". Spin. December 31, 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
26. "Village Voice - Pazz & Jop Lists". rocklistmusic.co.uk. 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
27. "NME Albums of 2008". rocklistmusic.co.uk. December 18, 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
28. "The 100 Best Albums of the 2000s". Complex. September 9, 2009. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
29. "The 100 Best Albums of The Complex Decade". Complex. April 3, 2012. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
30. "The 100 Best Albums of the Aughts". Slant Magazine. February 1, 2010. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
31. "100 Greatest Albums of Our Lifetime". Clash. December 10, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
32. Ryzik, Melena (April 27, 2012). "Ahead of the Curve, Yet Again". New York Times. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
33. "British album certifications – Santogold". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 19, 2020. Select albums in the Format field. Type Santogold in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
34. "New Impala Awards…". Impala. October 5, 2010. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
35. "Santogold - Santogold". Amazon. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
36. "Santogold - Santogold CD Album". CDJapan. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
37. Santogold (CD liner notes). Santogold. Downtown Records. 2008. DWT70034.CS1 maint: others (link)
38. "Ultratop.be – Santogold – Santogold" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
39. "Dutchcharts.nl – Santogold – Santogold" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
40. "Lescharts.com – Santogold – Santogold". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
41. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 20, 2008". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
42. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
43. "Santigold Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
44. "Santigold Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
45. "Santigold Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
46. "Dance/Electronic Albums – Year-End 2008". Billboard. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
47. "Independent Albums – Year-End 2008". Billboard. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
48. "Dance/Electronic Albums – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
49. "British album certifications – Santogold – Santogold". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 3, 2018. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Santogold in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
50. "Santigold by Santigold on Apple Music (US)". Apple Music. April 29, 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
51. Singh, Amrit (April 17, 2008). "Santi White For Bud Light, Santogold Album Art". Stereogum. Retrieved August 3, 2018. Santogold is out in the US on 4/29 via Downtown, and 5/12 in the UK via Atlantic
52. • "Santigold by Santigold on Apple Music (GB)". Apple Music. May 12, 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
    • "Santogold by Santigold on Apple Music (BE)". Apple Music. May 12, 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
    • "Santogold by Santigold on Apple Music (BE)". Apple Music. May 12, 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
    • "Santogold by Santigold on Apple Music (ZA)". Apple Music. May 12, 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
    • "Santogold by Santigold on Apple Music (IL)". Apple Music. May 12, 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
53. "Santigold by Santigold on Apple Music (CA)". Apple Music. September 16, 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2018.