Joakim Details 'Tropics of Love' Album

BY Josiah HughesPublished Apr 15, 2014

French production whiz Joakim has been relatively quiet since the release of his 2011 LP Nothing Gold, but he broke the dry spell last month with the release of a nearly unrecognizable cover of Neil Young's "On the Beach." Turns out, that was the lead single for his upcoming album.

Called Tropics of Love, the new LP sees the performer exploring myriad genres. He doesn't go it alone the whole way through, either — the song "Bring Your Love" features the Rapture's Luke Jenner, while "Each Other" includes vocals from Dragons of Zynth's Akwetey.

Speaking with Resident Advisor, the producer explained how Tropics of Love came to be with the following statement:

I think I was partly influenced by the machines I had on hand. The SP1200 has this grainy lo-fi sound that reminds of Art of Noise, for instance, which was an influence. The modular defines a lot of the sound atmosphere of the album. Things like Peter Gabriel or Paul Simon for the synthy tropical atmosphere, and modern R&B, both commercial and the weirder bass stuff that is to me a sort of experimental R&B.

Tropics of Love will be released on May 26 via Tigersushi/Because Music. A digital single for "On the Beach" is available through iTunes and includes remixes from CFCF and Principles of Geometry.

Watch the video for "On the Beach" below.

Tropics of Love:

1. Chapter 1
2. Bring Your Love (ft. Luke Jenner)
3. 3 Laser Fingers
4. Heartbeats
5. Chapter 2
6. Each Other (ft. Akwetey)
7. This Is My Life
8. RX777
9. Chapter 3
10. Man Like Moon
11. On The Beach
12. Hero

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