When asked, “Who is your favorite act/artist/musician of all time?” I have one, steady, confident answer: M83.
Anthony Gonzalez has an insanely talented knack for stealing celestial, star matter and pressing it down into the most remarkable, swirling sounds. In the same way our twinkling diamonds come from sooty and lightless coal.
Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, Gonzalez’s double album and true masterpiece, changed my life. I know the day, moment, I was sitting in my parent’s kitchen in South Florida and a friend sent me “Midnight City” to taste test. I was dumbstruck, and I knew I’d love music differently moving forward. I should probably be embarrassed to admit how many of the monsters from HUWD I have in my bedroom. (I’m not.)
Five years later, we are all impatiently waiting for what M83 has to share with our world. We’re all a little bit older, a little bit more broken, and needing his soundscapes to carry us higher.
The release of “Do It, Try It” had everyone buzzing. What was this ridiculous dog? What were these ridiculous colors and Happy Meal creatures?
"Anything we create today is going to end up being space junk at one point anyway," explained Gonzalez in a press release. "I have this image of pieces of humanity floating in space, lost forever... People will listen to an album, for instance, and just pick a track they like to put on a playlist. They're not going to take the time to listen to an album anymore because they have to jump on the next thing."
While I beg to differ, I’m excited to see where this thought process drove Junk.
Today, M83 has released “Solitude,” which will be the seventh song off the upcoming release. If you were at all concerned with the direction of the new album, and the sounds to come, I hope this eases all fears.
“Somewhere, back in time, I left a part of me, I want to see if you can try to bring me back to me,” aches out of M83’s signature, whimsical shoegaze. This song is far closer to “Wait” than “Raconte-Moi Une Histoire.”
“Solitude” is a truly gorgeous song. I’m only six listens in, and I know I’ll need a lifetime more.
Junk will drop on Friday, April 8.
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