Banoffee and Empress Of have no time for fake friends on “Tennis Fan”
We’re premiering “Tennis Fan,” the dazzling lead single from Banoffee’s debut album, which also features contributions from Umru, SOPHIE, and CupcakKe.
Despite how much interpersonal drama Instagram has caused, there hasn’t yet been a truly great song about friend drama in the social media age. Enter Los Angeles-via-Melbourne producer Banoffee’s new Empress Of collaboration “Tennis Fan”: an effervescent cut from her upcoming debut album that also serves as a delicious kiss-off to a fake friend. Her first single since last year’s “Bubble,” “Tennis Fan” showcases a shift in style for Banoffee, finding her and Empress Of singing over a crystalline trop-house beat and crunchy synths that are a far cry from last year’s comparatively sleek “Muscle Memory.” Lyrically, Banoffee is more brutal than ever, advising her former friend to “take that lean and Ativan” so they can make it through an afternoon with their new friends. Today, The FADER is premiering “Tennis Fan,” as well as its accompanying video by Quinn Whitney Wilson, the director behind Lizzo’s videos for “Truth Hurts,” “Juice” and “Boys.”
“Tennis Fan” is taken from Look At Us Now Dad, Banoffee’s long-awaited debut. Set to be released on February 21st via Cascine/Dot Dash, Look At Us Now Dad includes a collaboration with Umru in addition to “Tennis Fan”’s Empress Of feature, as well as a remix of the SOPHIE-co-production “Ripe” featuring a new verse from Chicagoan rapper CupcaKke.
“Working with Lorely [Rodriguez, Empress Of] and Quinn was such a pleasure and it turned into a daytime slumber party of sorts, with all ideas being welcome and nothing deemed too silly,” Banoffee tells The FADER via email of the video. I hope when people watch this clip they feel the good feelings we were all experiencing at the time. It's a song about rejecting the yuck stuff but it's just as much about celebrating the good stuff. I think this video does a great job of showing how strong friendships can make anything unkind feel unimportant and trivial." Watch “Tennis Fan” above and pre-order Banoffee’s Look At Us Now Dad here.
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