Covid-19 is a pandemic affecting every corner of the world and artists, unable to tour, or leave the house have been playing live on all social platforms. Fantastic Negrito has released the new track, Chocolate Samurai, which is out now via Cooking Vinyl. The accompanying video features fans across the globe submitting footage of them singing along to the track whilst in isolation.
In the video people around the globe are doing what people do. Some are just doing the mundane, like cleaning and tidying, others are exercising and a fair few are getting creative. What is common is that they are all in isolation. The video shows that we, as a global community, are all in the same situation, even though there is a suspicion that Fantastic Negrito may be panic buying toilet roll. I guess that 12 rolls does not constitute hoarding. Young, old, black, white, poor and rich. This pandemic is a great leveller, where everyone’s worth has been realised, and well being is one of our biggest collective challenges.
Music is the one thing most people turn to in times of crisis, and it is one thing that unites us sentient beings. Chocolate Samurai, like most of Fantastic Negrito’s music is wickedly catchy and upbeat, and is just the thing to shake off those isolation blues. In fact maybe this is a new genre, as Isolation Blues has a nice ring to it. The advice at the end of the video is one we agree with. Stay at home please, stay safe, stay sane, explore new music.
Fantastic Negrito comments, “Have you lost your mind yet? I asked people around the world to send me footage of how they’re coping with corona virus…this is what came back. A moment of light. We may be isolated behind closed doors, but we are in this together.”
The track is the first taste of new music since the release of his second GRAMMY Award-winning album, Please Don’t Be Dead, which features the singles The Duffler, A Boy Named Andrew and The Suit That Won’t Come Off.
Long hailed for his electrifying live performances you can also watch Negrito perform Plastic Hamburgers live on Jools Holland below.
Photography of Fantastic Negrito by Phil Honley
