Grammy-nominated crooner Gallant has returned to groove our souls with the new single “Gentleman.”
The sensual slow burner is the first release from the singer since his outstanding debut album Ology, but just a taste of what’s to come. The track conjures the spirits of late nineties and early two-thousands R&B within a sphere of cinematic production cooked up by frequent collaborator and producer Stint. Over a minimalist hum, the Gallant’s seductive and show-stopping falsetto blazes brilliantly as always.
Additionally, he has paired the audio release with a stunning music video, directed by the amazing Sasha Samsonova. The visual is awash in dark blue hues aptly fitting for the sensual nature of the record. Built around tight angles and extreme close-ups, the physicality of the clip evokes the single’s energy and showcases what Gallant calls, “My take on a nineties bedroom jam.”
“Visually, I wanted to kind of do the same thing I was doing audibly,” Gallant tells NPR. “It’s an homage to a bunch of different films that are really shadowy, Matrix-esque worlds that I think can only be built with 35 millimeter film … And obviously the lighting was like Hype Williams-type, like those videos in the late ’90s; the movie Belly; the way that Seal’s album covers are lit. And then it was the decision to be vulnerable and make the video just focus on the black male body.”
“Gentleman” is the first preview of Gallant’s anticipated sophomore album, which is said to be coming very soon. The album’s official first single, “Doesn’t Matter,” is on the way in the next couple weeks.
Watch the video above or stream “Gentleman” below!
