Rostam Batmanglij has shared a new track underneath his own name, Rostam, called “Gravity Don’t Pull Me,” which is now available through XL. Batmanglij, the former co-leader of Vampire Weekend, left the band back in January 2016.
“Gravity Don’t Pull Me” is synthpop track with rhythmic influences from R&B. Batmanglij’s voice is airy and sounds like it’s on the verge of breaking for the entire duration of the four minute song.
On Friday, Rostam released the music video for his new song via NPR Music. It stars dancers Jack Grabow and Sam Asa Pratt and was directed by Batmanglij and Josh Goleman. You can watch the new music video below.
The song follows Rostam’s single, “EOS,” which he released a couple of weeks before leaving Vampire Weekend, according to Stereogum. Essentially, this new song is probably hinting at a debut solo record from Rostam in the future.
Certainly, the sound of “Gravity Don’t Pull Me” is hypnotic. I’m particularly fond of the juxtaposition of the technically-intricate rhythms and Batmanglij’s delicate voice, but frankly, there was a reason that Ezra Koenig was the main voice of Vampire Weekend.
Rostam will make his debut as a live solo artist with Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys fame at Northside Festival in Brooklyn on June 12.
