Track by Track: Italian Dance Pop Duo SANTII
SANTII is approaching music from an artful angle. The Italian, London-based duo, comprising singer/lyricist Michele "Miki" Ducci and producer/visual artist Alessandro "Alex" Degli Angioli, introduced their dance pop-meets-'90s nostalgia aesthetic last year via debut album S01, and now they're continuing the story. With a slew of featured artists and a versatile style, S02 is sure to continue bringing SANTII far beyond European nightlife and into AirPods around the world.
As with the first album, S02 is the duo's equivalent to a TV show season, and each track is an "episode" allowing the featured artist to have their moment. With such a varied approach, it's nearly impossible to characterize the album as a whole, so there's no better way to get to know it than track-by-track. Exclusively for L'Officiel USA, Ducci and Angioli explained the inspiration and character behind each song so the world can better understand the stories underlying their eclectic project.
GLITTERS ft. Gold
“GLITTERS” starts out like an earthquake is about to happen, but then becomes very relaxed. The song is about acceptance and plays off the Shakespearean phrase “all that glitters is not gold.” Gold's voice was processed and mixed together with mine (Ducci's).
HIGH ft. Superhigh
“HIGH” was written on the road during our tour for our first album, S01. It’s about the powerful feeling you get from being on stage that suddenly disappears after the show. It converts to a feeling of loneliness when you’re in the hotel room by yourself, waiting for the next show to happen.
WHAT? ft. W
We’re very attached to this song and the feature from W is our personal favorite on the album, with flow like percussion and a melody that’s never expressed completely, but is always on the tip of the tongue. The lead synth melody has an East Asian-inspired pattern that sounds like a ringtone. It's like a phone call to the girl you have a crush on and you really want to meet up with.
TSUNAMI ft. Hanami
We wanted to do a dance-y song that started with an instrument we rarely use, the guitar. It’s a mix between Palmistry and Smashing Pumpkins, with a splash of Italo disco and a rapper who brought the energy of the dancefloor.
AFTERPARTY ft. Afterlife
This is one of the only songs where the lyrics came together first. It combines the idea of the afterlife with the afterparty. It starts out serene like a paradise, then becomes driving and distorted.
HAPPYFACE ft. sadface
"HAPPYFACE" is a very melancholic song. It explores not noticing what you have and taking things for granted. If you look without seeing, you ultimately lose, but there’s no use in feeling sorry for yourself because the universe will not dry your tears for you. The cutting flow from Sadface contrasts this feeling of hopelessness with pushing forward.
FIRE ft. Themind
“FIRE” is a pop song that we originally sketched out for ‘S01.’ We went through many versions of this song and in the end we turned the song upside down: we put a fire in the roof.
CRYSTAL ft. Jamilah Barry & Trigganom
“CRYSTAL” is an R&B ballad that then goes into a more PC Music sound. We really like this precarious balance between these two music worlds. It oscillates between the melancholia of Jamilah’s beautiful voice and the happiness of the chorus, followed by a super unpredictable rap verse from Trigganom.
1NIGHT ft. Trigganom
Trigganom gave us the energy to make this groovy party song. The core of this song came from a long time ago and takes inspiration from the past, when we lived on the riviera of the Adriatic Coast. We were just waiting for the right person to sing with.
SUMMER (Again) ft. Jr Joseph
In S01 there was a song called “Summer.” It’s actually a love song written to Summer, our favorite character from Rick & Morty. We wanted to end S02 with a song that’s almost a ghost track, with the idea of a return: each series (album) goes in a spiral, continually repeating itself but with marked differences. Jr Joseph is a good friend of ours. He’s got this great timbre that we adore.
