“Palpitations” began as a poem about love at first sight by Haitian author Ronald Painson, originally from Pétion-Ville, Haiti, and now based in Canada. SAINTCÔME brought his words into the studio with Grammy Award-winning Jamaican-American producer Major Seven, based in Atlanta, transforming
the poem into a sensual Afrobeat/dancehall ballad rooted in Caribbean rhythm and romance.
Throughout the creative process, SAINTCÔME believed the poem was titled “Mon Corps” — “My Body” — a name that seemed fitting for a song about love and desire coursing through the body. It wasn’t until later that her uncle Ronald revealed the poem’s actual title: “Palpitations.” The discovery felt serendipitous: the word captures the racing heart and involuntary physical response at the center of the song while carrying the same meaning in both
English and French.
During pre-production, Miami-raised, award-winning director Gil Green conceived an elevator sequence that would serve as a portal between the monotony of everyday work life and SAINTCÔME’s immersive journey through limerence. An elevator set was constructed at Greynolds Park specifically for the visual, transforming an ordinary transition into the threshold between reality and desire.
The journey continues inside Miami’s Hurrem Hammam, where the lush setting of a Turkish bath becomes the physical manifestation of that fantasy.
Cinematographer Joe Labisi, ASC, captures SAINTCÔME in a world that is sensual yet refined, translating the intimacy of the poem and the physical rush of “Palpitations” into images.
