XANIMAL team up with Someone Great on trip-hop heavy ‘The Awakening ft. Nagavalli’

INFLUENCED by the likes of LCD Soundsystem and Massive Attack, Austin’s electronic collective XANIMAL’s new single ‘The Awakening ft. Nagavalli’ fluently weaves trip-hop rhythms and world music, with accompanying video created by Fumihito Sugwara for Fumanstudios.

Featuring Claude McCan, (Claude9, 35MM, Supercreeps), Noëlle Hampton (The Belle Sounds), and Ken Christensen (Love Athletics, East Coast Boogiemen), the trio bolster their sound with the addition of fellow Austin musician Nagavalli, bringing her own brand of ‘Eastern Soul.’

“We decided early on that XANIMAL was going to be a collaborative project,” said Hampton, “and we knew we wanted to join forces with our friend Nagavalli at some point. She is truly magical and brings so much emotion and expression with her singing. I asked Claude if he could create something with a trance like world vibe, and he absolutely delivered, with Nagavalli’s vocals, our vision was complete.

“We are having a massive awakening right now. Some of us are realizing our complicity through the inaction that led us here. Some are waking up from being in a gigantic cult of misinformation, misogyny, racism and fear. And some remain there, unfortunately. It certainly feels like we are right up against something massive in our consciousness, something that will hopefully lead to a better world. We will need to make our way through a dark time for a while, but I believe a better life will prevail.”

“When we began working on new music after our first single, we initially built a groovy disco track and laid down some vocals,” adds McCan, “but then the presidential election happened, and suddenly that disco energy didn’t feel right. It no longer matched what we needed to express. I’ve always been drawn to darker, trip-hop–influenced grooves, so when Noëlle suggested shifting in that direction, it felt like the perfect move.

“And when Noëlle delivered the lyrics and vocals, everything clicked – they fit the music so naturally. I knew we had something special. This track pulls together so much of my musical history while reflecting the emotional weight of the world right now. We wanted to reach beyond ourselves and connect with our Austin community. Nagavalli was someone we’d long hoped to collaborate with and bringing her into the project opened the door to a more global sound. Her Eastern Soul vocals completely blew us away.”

Connect with XANIMAL  HERE  and Nagavalli   HERE