Today, Charlie Hilton, singer/songwriter from the band Blouse, has shared “100 Million,” the latest from her debut solo album, Palana. “100 Million,” which features Mac DeMarco, who sings back-ups and plays every instrument on the track. The song was produced by Woods’ Jarvis Taveniere. Palana, is out January 22nd via Captured Tracks

Though she maintains some reservations about the implications of something as abstract as identity, Charlie Hilton, known up until now for her work in the band Blouse, has now forged a new one with her debut solo album, Palana. The album’s title itself is a nod to Hilton’s given Sanskrit name, an identity she shed completely after high school in favor of the androgynous “Charlie,” and Palana’s overarching theme can be summed up by a quote from Hermann Hesse’s Steppenwolf, a phrase Hilton cites as a personal mantra:

“Man is not by any means of fixed and enduring form…he is much more an experiment and a transition….”

Enlisting Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Jacob Portrait as producer, Hilton freely experimented with diverse sounds and moods -­-some minimal and some cacophonous-­-out of the confines of a band structure. “Funny Anyway” is truly stark, featuring only string accompaniments, with Hilton assuming a role akin to a confessional French chanteuse, while “Let’s Go to a Party” is Hilton’s cheeky take on an icy dance track with thick, bouncing synths and a chorus that echoes “I’m only happy when I’m dancing.”

“The music on this record is diverse, but so is the inside of a person. I feel like I’m many people.”

CHARLIE HILTON
PALANA
CAPTURED TRACKS
JANUARY 22, 2016

1. Palana
2. Something For Us All
3. Pony
4. Long Goodbye
5. Funny Anyway
6. WHY
7. Lets Go To A Party
8. Snow
9. The Young
10. No One Will
11. 100 Million (feat. Mac DeMarco)