Shunkan’s new single was a lockdown baby. “I think I was in denial about everything going on,” says bandleader Marina Sakimoto, reflecting on the state of mind that begat “Arm’s Length” in 2020. “My feelings of isolation and introvertedness had been steadily growing for a few years at that point. But against those odds, I still craved intimacy and friendship.”
Much of Shunkan’s upcoming release gets its hard-earned mojo from that pivotal period in Sakimoto’s life. The Los Angeles-based artist had built up a respectable head of steam with her well-received 2019 debut, The Pink Noise, only to join other promising new talent in the soul-sucking pandemic void.
Five years later, she’s reemerged with Kamikaze Girl, available Friday via the Houston-based Rite Field imprint. For her belated sophomore release, Shunkan collaborated with Grammy-nominated producer Alex Newport (Death Cab For Cutie, At The Drive-In) to harness all that angst and uncertainty and shape it into an oddly soothing funnel cloud of bold melodies, emo attitude and millennial alt-rock energy.
Shunkan wanted the video for “Arm’s Length” to be a visual representation of her lowest point. “It was the time when I felt most unworthy and alone, even spanning into when I was writing the record,” she says “I also love the visual style of Wong Kar-wai, so I wanted to incorporate elements of his films that I particularly love. The video isn’t literal, so I wanted it to feel somewhat dreamlike or surreal.”
We’re proud to premiere Shunkan’s “Arm’s Length” video.
—Hobart Rowland
