Singer-Songwriter Shanti Snyder Speaks New Sonic Truth in Music Video/Song “Bad Intentions”
Out March 29th via DeSoto Picture Company
Directed by RJ Chmiel, produced by Narducci, with Chris Palle, Ginny Luke, Doc Allison and Solomon Dorsey
Holding your power. Standing up for who you are. Making a change for your happiness. These are the mantras of Shanti Snyder’s moving music video and song, “Bad Intentions.” “‘Bad Intentions’ is about allowing yourself to be sensitive, observant, and strong at the same time,” says Shanti. “Feeling brave enough to make a decision for the better, and not allowing yourself to be driven under by the shadows that a relationship can cast over you.”
Shanti Snyder, an esteemed recording artist in Japan's jazz and pop scenes, is known worldwide from the songs “Sora” and "Inner Universe," from anime films "Visions of Eskaflowne" and “Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex,” respectively, as well as her collaborations with composer Yoko Kanno. Beginning her career as an indie artist in Paris, Shanti went on to release eight albums with Columbia's Japanese affiliate, Nippon Columbia, winning multiple Pro Sound Recording Awards in jazz and pop. She has toured Europe, and released "Cloud 9" on the renowned Dutch jazz label Challenge Records. Shanti’s recent cover of "Up on the Roof” hit #1 on e-Onkyo's site in Japan. As both a songwriter and performer, she has also worked with Take 6, Crystal Kay, Keisuke Kuwata, and many more.
Though enjoying a successful touring and recording career performing mainly standards, Shanti’s original musical aspiration was to be a singer/songwriter. “Interpreting other people’s music was becoming too restrictive. I wanted to get back to writing more of my own songs. To speak my truth, and create based on my own experiences.” Seeking new ways to express the music inside her, she reached out to an old friend in L.A., Taichi Erskine (editor on Hulu’s Pen15), who introduced Shanti to fellow DeSoto Picture Company member, producer/saxophonist Narducci (aka Matthew Silberman). Narducci, who has worked with Miguel, Bilal, System of a Down’s Daron Malakian, and jazz legend Peter Erskine among many others, was intrigued by the prospect of collaborating with a talented fellow jazz-head who was also seeking new ground and fresh sounds.
"Traveling to L.A., I found the creative freedom and liberation I needed in Narducci’s studio, DeSoto Sound Factory.” Shanti was back to being a songwriter again, coming full circle since her acclaimed track "Sora.” After recording two songs together, “Bad Intentions” and “Pull Me Down,” Shanti and Narducci started working on music video concepts for each with fellow DeSoto Picture Company directors RJ Chmiel and Corey Ulrich. Writer/director Chmiel, who has worked with musicians STS, Khari Mateen, The Vivian Girls, and Sean Forbes in addition to writer Jerry Stahl and Fast & Furious films 6-8, was drawn to “Bad Intentions” by its cinematic vibe.
“‘Bad Intentions’ means knowing you’re not in a healthy relationship, knowing that you need to break free, but sometimes it’s tricky because you still have nostalgia holding you back,” says Chmiel. In scenes that blur past with present, from romantic nights out and intimate moments in bed, to awkward shopping escapades and violent arguments, director Chmiel says that he “wanted to show the jarring difference between the extremes that relationships can have: from happiness to melancholy and disarray. From falling in love, to knowing that you absolutely must leave.”
The video and song are indeed “art imitating life:” Shanti’s character in the video looks for a new beginning, just as Shanti the artist travelled to L.A. to seek a fresh new musical experience.
The “Bad Intentions” music video will premiere March 29th on YouTube, with the song to follow on all major digital platforms. Director/cinematographer Corey Ulrich, who has worked on music videos with Miley Cyrus and Mary J. Blige, as well as directing commercials for Volkswagen and Coca-Cola, did the coloring for “Bad Intentions,” and directed the next music video to be released from this collaboration, “Pull Me Down,” which is currently in post-production.