M83 ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM FANTASY OUT MARCH 17 ON MUTE
NORTH AMERICAN TOUR SCHEDULED FOR APRIL AND MAY
M83, aka Anthony Gonzalez, announces the details of his new forthcoming full-length album, Fantasy, that will see release on March 17th, 2023 via Mute and is available to pre-order HERE.
In addition to this news, M83 has shared the sweeping, transformative first cut βOceans Niagaraβ. Accompanying the track is a video directed by his long-time creative collaborator, filmmaker (Knife + Heart, You And The Night) and brother Yann Gonzalez.
βBeyond Adventureβ, Gonzalez sings into a trademark M83 swirl of synths & guitars. These are the only two words in the entirety of βOceans Niagaraβ, a proclamation with an ellipsis, and the most apt tone-setting for the evocative, sense-amplifying journey that is Fantasy.
Commenting on the track/video, Gonzalez offers: βVery proud to present the first track of my new album βFantasyβ. Itβs called ‘Oceans Niagara’ and itβs the very first collaboration between my brother Yann Gonzalez and myself on a music video. I wanted to create this sense of friendship. Listening to that song, I imagine people running, driving fast, or riding spaceships together. Itβs this sense of going forward, like a magic potion that you take to discover new worlds. Beyond Adventure!”
Video director Yann Gonzalez adds: “‘Oceans Niagara’ is the perfect synthesis of M83’s music: a wall of sound and emotions that goes crescendo until it climaxes, with moments of pure melodic ecstasy that personally make me feel like I’m floating, loving and crying all at once, almost like being a teenager again. This is the first time I’m directing a music video for Anthony and this was a great chance for us to share our common references and emotions from our own childhood and teenage years with hints of our favorite French-Japanese animes, horror films and kidβs strange TV shows from the β80s and β90s.”
For Gonzalez, Fantasy‘s direction and aesthetic was immediately clear. “I wanted this record to be very impactful live,” he says. “The idea was to come back with something closer to the energy of Before The Dawn Heals Us. The combination of guitars and synths is always in my music, but itβs maybe more present on this new record than on the previous ones.”
Reserved in nature, Gonzalez also sought to continue a trend that has become more prominent in his recent albums. “I wanted to be more present lyrically and vocally even if that was daunting at first,” he states. “I thought if I could achieve that, this album will be more personal than those that came before.”
Fantasy, M83βs 9th studio album, proves a towering sensory delight and marks his most personal album to date, an alternate world that Gonzalez has created as an escape from the disconnected world we live in today.
Sonically expansive yet tenderly intimate, Gonzalez harnesses a juxtaposition of the unreachable and the omnipresent in a way that leaves the listener feeling unabashedly, heart-blazingly alive.
Tour Dates
4/10/2023 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren
4/11/2023 – Albuquerque, NM – El Rey Theater
4/13/2023 – San Antonio, TX – The Aztec Theatre
4/14/2023 – Austin, TX – Stubbβs Waller Creek Amphitheater
4/15/2023 – Houston, TX – The Lawn at White Oak Music Hall
4/16/2023 – Dallas, TX – House Of Blues
4/18/2023 – Nashville, TN – Marathon Music Works
4/19/2023 – Atlanta, GA – The Eastern
4/21/2023 – Philadelphia, PA – Franklin Music Hall
4/22/2023 – Washington, DC – The Anthem
4/23/2023 – Boston, MA – Roadrunner
4/25/2023 – New York, NY – Terminal 5
4/28/2023 – Montreal, QC – MTELUS
4/29/2023 – Toronto, ON – HISTORY
4/30/2023 – Royal Oak, MI – Royal Oak Music Theatre
5/2/2023 – Chicago, IL – Riviera Theatre
5/3/2023 – St. Paul, MN – Palace Theatre
5/5/2023 – Denver, CO – Mission Ballroom
5/6/2023 – Salt Lake City, UT – Ogden Amphitheater
5/8/2023 – Portland, OR – Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
5/9/2023 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom
5/10/2023 – Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo
5/14/2023 – Paso Robles, CA – Vina Robles Amphitheatre
5/16/2023 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theater
ArtistΒ Links
Background Photo Credit: Ella Herme
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: M83 – DSVII
