Grimes has surprised fans by sharing a video for a previously unreleased track called REALiTi. The video, directed by the Canadian musician herself, was filmed while she toured south-east Asia in spring 2013 and blends footage from her live shows with shots of the singer exploring the region and showing off her angular dance moves in various exotic locations.
In her YouTube description, Grime reveals that Realiti was originally intended for a scrapped follow-up album to 2012’s Visions and says the track itself was never fully finished. “Since this is no longer gonna be on the album, I’m releasing it as a special thank you to everyone in Singapore, KL, Manila, Jakarta, HK, Shanghai, Beijing, Taipei, Seoul, Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo who came out to the shows!” Grimes writes.
“This song was never finished. its a demo from the lost album , recorded early 2013. i lost the ableton file, so its not mixed or mastered. i tried to doctor the mp3 into a listenable state, but it was poorly recorded in the first place and never meant to be heard by anyone, so its a bit of a mess haha.”
Although Grimes reckons it’s messy, this iridescent electro-pop gem is still completely intoxicating. “Every morning there are mountains to climb,” Grimes sings on the chorus, her trademark chiffon-light vocals gliding over a quivering bassline and lots of shimmering synths.
However, it seems unlikely that REALiTi is a taster of things to come from the musician also known as Claire Boucher. In December she tweeted that she had just finished her “first attempt at a glam rock style song”, a track which apparently has a Queen and David Bowie “feeling” and could potentially become a single from her next album. “Guitar is just a whole new sonic world, melodically, rhythmically etc,” Grimes also tweeted at the time. “Playing ‘irl’ music is my biggest inspiration lately.”
Credits
Text Nick Levine
Photography Mac Boucher