After signing to Arbutus Records to release Hamtramck '16 in 2017, Moon King has readied a follow-up effort for the label.
Titled Voice of Lovers, the album will arrive through the label on April 2. Of the 12-track effort, Moon King mastermind Daniel Benjamin offered, "there are a lot of quick cuts and transitions and the songs are pretty short, it's meant to feel a bit breathless or disorienting, like driving around and dropping in at a few different clubs in a night."
Benjamin added that, lyrically, Voice of Lovers is "dark and fun and a little nihilistic but ultimately positive," inspired by "trying to live in the U.S. as a non-citizen, listening to records at the apartment in Hamtramck, late nights out at parties like Freakish Pleasures and Macho City, trips with the crew to Montreal, being on tour during the 2016 U.S. election, spending the holidays alone in Detroit, the deaths of George Michael & Prince and the unfinished Moon King record from 2015."
Benjamin has shared first single "Neon Lights" alongside the announcement, and you can hear the Vespre-assisted cut in the player below, complete with video accompaniment from Stacie Ant.
"'Neon Lights' is about endless hours I spent listening to music and learning to mix records, at the apartment I lived in for a few years in Hamtramck, MI," Benjamin explained in a statement. "My friend Kaylan (Detroit synth-pop singer Vespre) sings the choruses, and my vocals on the verses are pitched up to make it sort of a surreal duet. I was messing around with the tape speed a lot during recording, and the rest of the track is actually slowed down quite a bit on playback. It's meant to capture a hazy, late night kind of vibe."
Benjamin has also mapped out a handful of tour dates behind the release. After performing at JUNOfest in London, ON, later next month, he'll play Montreal and Toronto in April before heading over to Europe. You can find Moon King's complete itinerary below.
Voice of Lovers:
1. Around the World
2. Creep (dance 4 u)
3. Voice of Lovers
4. USA Today
5. Neon Lights (ft. Vespre)
6. Blue & White
7. Come Away With Me
8. October Surprise
9. Six Months of the Year
10. Free Time
11. You & Me (we're naked)
12. Separation Anxiety
Tour dates:
03/09 Chicago, IL - the Lot
03/15 London, ON - JUNOfest
04/05 Montreal, QC - L'Escogriffe
04/11 Toronto, ON - the Monarch
04/26 Berlin, DE - Internet Explorer
04/27 Krakow, PL - Klub RE
04/28 Warsaw, PL - Poglos
05/02 Leipzig, DE - [secret location]
05/04 Cologne, DE - [secret location]
05/06 Copenhagen, DK - Ideal Bar
05/11 Paris, FR - Supersonic
05/16 Rotterdam, NL - V11
05/17 Groningen, NL - Fridaynit
Titled Voice of Lovers, the album will arrive through the label on April 2. Of the 12-track effort, Moon King mastermind Daniel Benjamin offered, "there are a lot of quick cuts and transitions and the songs are pretty short, it's meant to feel a bit breathless or disorienting, like driving around and dropping in at a few different clubs in a night."
Benjamin added that, lyrically, Voice of Lovers is "dark and fun and a little nihilistic but ultimately positive," inspired by "trying to live in the U.S. as a non-citizen, listening to records at the apartment in Hamtramck, late nights out at parties like Freakish Pleasures and Macho City, trips with the crew to Montreal, being on tour during the 2016 U.S. election, spending the holidays alone in Detroit, the deaths of George Michael & Prince and the unfinished Moon King record from 2015."
Benjamin has shared first single "Neon Lights" alongside the announcement, and you can hear the Vespre-assisted cut in the player below, complete with video accompaniment from Stacie Ant.
"'Neon Lights' is about endless hours I spent listening to music and learning to mix records, at the apartment I lived in for a few years in Hamtramck, MI," Benjamin explained in a statement. "My friend Kaylan (Detroit synth-pop singer Vespre) sings the choruses, and my vocals on the verses are pitched up to make it sort of a surreal duet. I was messing around with the tape speed a lot during recording, and the rest of the track is actually slowed down quite a bit on playback. It's meant to capture a hazy, late night kind of vibe."
Benjamin has also mapped out a handful of tour dates behind the release. After performing at JUNOfest in London, ON, later next month, he'll play Montreal and Toronto in April before heading over to Europe. You can find Moon King's complete itinerary below.
Voice of Lovers:
1. Around the World
2. Creep (dance 4 u)
3. Voice of Lovers
4. USA Today
5. Neon Lights (ft. Vespre)
6. Blue & White
7. Come Away With Me
8. October Surprise
9. Six Months of the Year
10. Free Time
11. You & Me (we're naked)
12. Separation Anxiety
Tour dates:
03/09 Chicago, IL - the Lot
03/15 London, ON - JUNOfest
04/05 Montreal, QC - L'Escogriffe
04/11 Toronto, ON - the Monarch
04/26 Berlin, DE - Internet Explorer
04/27 Krakow, PL - Klub RE
04/28 Warsaw, PL - Poglos
05/02 Leipzig, DE - [secret location]
05/04 Cologne, DE - [secret location]
05/06 Copenhagen, DK - Ideal Bar
05/11 Paris, FR - Supersonic
05/16 Rotterdam, NL - V11
05/17 Groningen, NL - Fridaynit
