Karen O has shared a new song called “YO! MY SAINT,” featuring Michael Kiwanuka. It appears in KENZO’s new Spring/Summer campaign film. Listen to the song below; scroll down for the short film. The visual was directed by Ana Lily Amirpour (A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night) and stars Dirty Beaches’ Alex Zhang Hungtai, playing a fashion photographer who falls in love with two models (Jessica Henwick and Kiko Mizuhara). According to a press release, the theme of KENZO’s Spring/Summer collections were inspired by “two historic muses”: composer Ryuichi Sakamoto and famed Japanese model Sayoko Yamaguchi.
In a statement, Karen O addresses how the film’s story line sparked ideas of “Asian melodrama” within her. “For the music, I immediately wanted to do melodramatic and romantic and with lots of yearning and high stakes—all the good stuff that’s in any Korean soap opera,” she says. Karen O’s last album was 2014’s Crush Songs. Last year, she joined composer Daniele Luppi for songs on MILANO, his collaboration with Parquet Courts. Yeah Yeah Yeahs are set to headline Governors Ball.
Read Pitchfork’s 5-10-15-20 interview with Karen O.
