Self Esteem has shared a sexually charged new single, ’69’ – check it out below.
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To usher in Valentine’s Day, Self Esteem has dropped the hyper-sexual and political house-influenced track as the second preview from her highly anticipated upcoming album ‘A Complicated Woman’.
’69’ sees Self Esteem – real name Rebecca Lucy Taylor – rate sexual positions, championing the necessity of communication during sex, and take a jab at the inequality that women face when it comes to satisfying men.
The newly released track also features drag icon Meatball, who has spoken about the same themes in their podcast.
Self Esteem sings during the song’s opening verse and chorus: “Doggy style feels alright, missionary 40 calories burnt for me / Scissoring, I find that interesting / Spooning is always soothing / The one thing I hate, ‘cos I can’t concentrate / no I just can’t abide, yeah I’ve never the time, to 69.”
A music video for ’69’ – directed by Piers Dennis – is due to release in a few hours, and sees Taylor speaking at an addicts anonymous session, slowly breaking out into dance choreography and turning the session into an intense dance party, complete with red strobe lights.
Self Esteem said of ’69’ in a press statement: “I always wanted to write a song that lists sex positions and rates them. A lot of my music is saying the things I struggle to say in real life. I like the idea of clearly communicating your needs in one quick, three-minute house song. It is also political – women still are expected to cater to others sexually; I can’t hear another discussion about ‘faking it’, it upsets me too much! There’s enough inequality in the male/ female dynamic as it is. Our bodies go through so much more pain and suffering, please god let us get the pleasure where we can!”
The song’s inclusion of drag queen Meatball was icing on the cake for Taylor: “I’d already written the song and then months later my all-time favourite drag queen Meatball said pretty much the same on her podcast Sloppy Seconds, and I knew it had to make the album!”
Self Esteem is due to release the 12-track record ‘A Complicated Woman’ on April 25 via Polydor – you can pre-order a copy here. She’s already previewed the follow-up to 2021’s Mercury and BRIT-nominated ‘Prioritise Pleasure’ with the single ‘Focus Is Power’, released last month.
According to a press release, Self Esteem’s ‘A Complicated Woman’ album is about taking back control of your own life – all while exposing the excess and additional labour that women are expected to undertake. It’ll include appearances by Moonchild Sanelly, Nadine Shah and Life Without Buildings‘ Sue Tompkins.
Self Esteem has also announced a live “theatrical presentation” of the album ahead of its release. The brand-new intimate show from Taylor – titled ‘A Complicated Woman Live’ – will be coming to the Duke Of York’s Theatre in London this spring. A limited run of five shows has been scheduled for April 16, 17, 18 and 19 – with the latter date featuring two performances. All shows are now sold out.
Back in 2021, Self Esteem was featured on the cover of NME, where she spoke about her last album ‘Prioritise Pleasure’. “I’ve done years of therapy, done plenty of work on myself, and read every fucking book you can fucking read about it, and it comes back down to true self-acceptance and self-love,” she said, speaking about the inner work she has done to be able to make music in the way she wants to.
“It’s the answer to everything, but it’s still something that you’re meant to not do. I go down this road a lot, and I get quite upset. But then I think, no – just keep in my little part of the world, my group, accepting myself, loving myself, and then make my little silly songs and do my little silly dances. And if someone can learn from that and pass it forward, at least I’m doing something?”
