“Slippin” is a collaborative piece by Annabelle Maginnis and Kenny Zhao, and the second debut single from Zhao’s upcoming mixtape Kenny’s Room. Written and produced initially by Annabelle during quarantine, the song is the only track on the upcoming Kenny’s Room not made on the Elektron Octatrack. In the spirit of that project and shared moment, “Slippin” is a daydream about the undoing of illusions in self-isolation.
Reflecting on the pressures of productivity and posturing, Annabelle draws comparisons to “getting up on tippy toes” and “clanking around in bottles and cans” - a critique of the industry’s knack for bending artists into commodities.
“Swallowing your tongue,
or is it tied with demands
Is it time for us to just expand?””
Music labels, streaming services and venues are incentivized to increase demands on artists, with less to offer in exchange. Such power structures end up swallowing people whole in the name of efficiency, without concern for the ensuing effect on artistry. Rejecting that notion, Annabelle and Zhao create a sonic world in which time’s hands loosen their grip. In this world, we are encouraged to imagine. There is space and time to be incomplete.
lyrics
Get up on your tippy toes
And yell while you can
I know its a lot
To understand
If everything is frozen
are we still droppin sand
in the hourglass
tied up by the minute’s hand?
Slippin
Through the
finger
Tips I
Feel it
Slowly
Losin’
Grip, I’m
Slippin
Through the
finger
Tips i
Feel it
Slowly
Losin
Grip, I’m . . .
Tired of buildin bridges
Are ya changin’ your plans?
Are ya clankin’ around with
bottles and cans?
Swallowing your tongue
Or is it tied with demands
Is it time for us to just expand?
Slippin
Through the
finger
Tips I
Feel it
Slowly
Losin
Grip, I’m
Slippin
Through the
finger
Tips I
Feel it
Slowly
Losin
Grip, I’m
Slippin . . .
credits
released August 17, 2020
Annabelle Maginnis - production, writing, vocals, guitar, violin, cover doodle
Kenny Zhao - production, keys, bass, mixing, mastering
Ella Trimarchi - cover artwork pattern & design
Special thanks to:
Mitochondria
Containers
Mycelium
Our google drive folder
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