NYC-based art-pop duo mmeadows — made up of current Dirty Projectors member Kristin Slipp and Beyoncé, Lorde, Harry Styles, Taylor Swift, Laurie Anderson and more collaborator Cole Kamen-Green — announce their highly anticipated debut album Light Moves Around You, out February 3, 2023. In tandem with the announcement, they’ve also shared their newest single and video, ‘By Design,’ presenting an observant, elemental tone that runs across the record.
Against the backdrop of a horn-laced beat, Slipp sings of shorelines, greenways, and the secrets that nature holds, longing for human touch in the age of automation. “The world we live in is built for convenience and comfort, flashy, slick and hypnotic. Whether purposeful or as an unfortunate byproduct, person-to-person connection is in perpetual obfuscation,” Slipp explains. “I feel like I’m constantly fumbling around in search of a human touch, and when I find it, all I want to do is grab hold and hang on tight. ‘By Design’ is an exploration of relationships in an ever-automating world, and writing it helped me sniff out my most basic desire – to care and be cared for.”
Explaining the connection between the song and its video, director Haoyan of America says, “When Kristin and Cole mentioned to me about them living near Times Square, I thought it might make for a captivating location with so much going on and surprises around every corner. On our filming day, we stumbled upon a Diwali celebration that was so loud, we had difficulty hearing playback. During one take, a motorcyclist wiped out right next to us and we had to wait for a curious mob to clear to finish our shot. At another location, our wonderful PA Anne Chang serendipitously ran into friends who were running an art gallery inside of our subway entrance filming location. The chaos can be overwhelming at times, but the chaos can also be enthralling.”
Light Moves Around You:
- By Design
- You Should Know By Now
- Light Moves Around You
- Baby-By
- Circling Down
- When We Are Together We Are Really Free
- Working On Me
- Friendship
- Testify
- Fall Asleep
