BADBADNOTGOOD and Charlotte Day Wilson join forces for new single, ‘Sleeper’. Recorded at the legendary Los Angeles studio Valentine Recording Studios on analog tape, ‘Sleeper’ sees the lush vocals of Charlotte Day Wilson drift in and around a refreshing instrumental by BADBADNOTGOOD. The single gets a full digital release today via XL Recordings alongside artwork by fellow-Canadian creative, Mark Krzepis.
LISTEN TO ‘SLEEPER’ NOW HERE
WATCH THE VISUALIZER FOR ‘SLEEPER’ HERE
Charlotte Day Wilson’s musical touchstones reach far and wide, twisting elements of folk, gospel and R&B into the silky DNA that makes her romantic and often existential musings so intoxicating. In 2021, Day Wilson released her highly praised debut ALPHA, a record that served as a metaphorical coming out, finding her openly and honestly tapping into her queerness for the first time as a storyteller. A breathtakingly confident and sensual Day Wilson emerged as a front runner in a new generation of quiet storm-inspired artists, Pitchfork even comparing her sonically to the queen of the movement, Anita Baker.
A few months after the album’s release, fellow Toronto native and North Star of the music industry, Drake immortalized early album favourite ‘Mountains’, co-written by Babyface, by sampling it in the chart-topping radio hit ‘Fair Trade’ featuring Travis Scott. Day Wilson also gained praise for the supergroup remix of her song “Take Care Of You” featuring Syd, joined by other landmark queer female artists King Princess, Amaarae and Meshell Ndegeocello. Most recently, she joined UK producer SG Lewis and Channel Tres on the disco-infused “Fever Dreamer”.In August, Day Wilson embarked on a new musical chapter, signing with XL Recordings to release “Forever” featuring Snoh Aalegra. Tethered loosely to a warped interpolation of The Foundations’ classic, “Baby, Now That I Found You”, the single was praised by The Fader, The Line of Best Fit and more. Thusfar, Day Wilson has earned Juno, Polaris and Libera nominations, marking an early and undeniable era of music in a soon to be legendary canon.
BADBADNOTGOOD and Charlotte Day Wilson first premiered ‘Sleeper’ at the London festival, All Points East in August. After a rapturous response there, the alt-jazz ensemble and singer-songwriter reunited to tease the hotly-anticipated single to the sold-out crowd at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Friday, where they supported Canadian singer-songwriter Daniel Caesar. ‘Sleeper’ is the latest collaboration between the Toronto-natives, a musical relationship that ignited in 2016 with the highly-praised “In Your Eyes” taken from BADBADNOTGOOD’s fourth studio album, IV. Since then, they have collaborated on live shows, including the viral NPR Tiny Desk, and on “I Can Only Whisper” for Day-Wilson’s 2021 debut album, ALPHA. Speaking on “Sleeper” and working again with BADBADNOTGOOD, Charlotte Day Wilson says “Sleeper wrote itself…we were in the studio just messing around and the guys came up with the colourful instrumental while I freestyled the lyrics. The song portrays someone who chooses the path of least resistance and finds themselves in a lifeless, loveless relationship.”
Mark Krzepis
