Katrina Rees
British electropop trio Years & Years made their debut on the music scene back in 2014. However, it was the release of ‘King’ in 2015 which truly propelled them to stardom.
Since then, they have released a string of singles including ‘Shine’, ‘Desire’ featuring Tove Lo and ‘Eyes Shut’, in addition to their number one album Communion. The trio’s last release was ‘Meteorite’, which was unveiled in 2016 as part of the Bridget Jones’ Baby soundtrack. Since then, fans have been patiently awaiting new music from Olly, Emre and Mikey.
The wait is finally over as Years & Years have just dropped a brand new track called ‘Sanctify’. After intense teasing and cryptic messages on their social media, the track was unveiled on Annie Mac’s Radio 1 show this evening.
‘Sanctify’ has a darker sound compared to Years & Years’ previous releases, however, there is still an air of familiarity to the track. The accompanying visual also builds upon the stirring videos that the trio have released in the past. On this occasion, the visual takes place in a fictional android society called Palo Santo. After being captured, frontman Olly is forced to entertain the leaders and chooses to do so by dancing.
In a press release, Olly said: I want to take people on a wild and wonderful adventure through my dreams to a world that’s very different from our own. I’ve been thinking about this place for a long time, a place to tell stories from; about identity, sexuality, celebrity and performance. The video for “Sanctify” centers around an audition against the backdrop of a future metropolis called Palo Santo. It’s the first part of a bigger jigsaw puzzle and my hope is that it confuses the hell out of people but also excites them in a mysterious and sensual way. We’ve deliberately hidden lots of different meanings and I want people to come up with their own interpretations, I’m asking people to jump down the rabbit hole with me and let their imagination run free.
The thing I love most about pop music has always been fantasy and escapism so I thought, ‘well I guess I should try and be the pop star I want to see in the world and make the most ambitious and freaky and sexy thing possible’. I’m making these videos because I want to let people inside my brain and because I love living in my own fantasy world (always have, always will) – a place where sexuality and gender are blurred and magic is real. We live in a chaotic and accelerating world, we’re looking at depictions of the future to help us make sense of what’s happening right now. This is my vision of a possible future, one that makes us question what it means to be a human.”
A four minute video has also been released, which sees Olly further talking about the inspiration behind ‘Sanctify’. Check it out below.
Years & Years have stated that ‘Sanctify’ is only the beginning, and we cannot wait to hear what else Olly, Emre and Mikey have up their sleeves.
