Wellington artist Estère has released the first single from her as-yet unnamed second album. Photo/Supplied
Wellington artist Estère has released the first single from her as-yet unnamed second album. Photo/Supplied
It's hard to imagine someone more different to Donald Trump than Magdelaine Lavirgin, the fictional persona Wellington producer Estère has strode into on her new track Ambition.
Lavirgin - a young, bare-footed prostitute, and a woman of colour with dark, curly hair - is the polar opposite of the president-elect.Released last week alongside a stunning video, the track chronicles Lavirgin's desire to disrupt the political hegemony with a strong feminist statement - to take the Oval Office.
"Magdelaine Lavirgin, bordello resident, wanted to be the United States President... A voice of the people, an advocate of equal rights for everyone. A candidate peculiar to represent the future, hijack the election."
It's a direct political statement most musicians steer clear of, but its message - delivered towards a man who has tried to strip the dignity from minorities on countless occasions - could not be timelier.
Speaking to NZME, Estère Dalton, who has just returned from a five-month tour of Africa, Asia and Europe, said the concept and character behind Ambition came to her in the shower "in a package of its own".
"The song has a lot of political statements and is a commentary... It's almost a satire. The type of media we're seeing around the US presidential election and the fact we've got a character like Donald Trump running for president is kind of almost a joke in itself.
"According to the American dream there's no reason why Magdelaine Lavirgin couldn't become president."
Dalton's self-described "electric blue witch hop" - a fusion of soul vocals, and lavish, rich funk production - is at the fore in Ambition, the first single released ahead of her as-yet unnamed sophomore album. It's a confident, eccentric, compositionally dense release - led heavily by a bass clarinet - and a dreamy, lullaby-like hook.
Dalton, who writes and performs all her own tracks with her music production controller nicknamed Lola, says proudly standing up in the male-dominated arena of music production as a female is an important message she wants to send.
"It's something I feel positive about being highlighted. If there's a huge void of a certain type of person in an occupation or area of art, then it might mean those types of people might not be as influenced and as encouraged to pursue that... I think a lot of it is to do with the examples people see and whether they can associate with them.
"People are quite impressed that I'm a girl who makes these beats, but I harp on about it so much that I think [male producers are] starting to get the idea," she laughs.
"At the end of the day it's just what I like to do and I just do it."
