It was recently announced that M83 plans to release new music in 2016. Now, a tweet from producer J. Meldal-Johnsen confirms that the band’s next record “is now finished.”
Meldal-Johnsen produced M83’s previous album, 2011’s Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming. He says he’s “very happy” with its forthcoming follow-up.
Update – Thursday, December 17th at 2:15 p.m. CT: In an interview with EW.com, M83 mastermind Anthony Gonzalez described the album as strong and eclectic. “It’s very epic. There’s a lot of different genres that are not supposed to live together but I tried to make them live together, which is quite challenging. It’s also quite different from the previous albums which is what I’m the most proud of.”
The album features “a lot of classic drum sounds, with bass and drinks, an Elk synth,” he explained, adding, “I felt like we really tried to be very modern but also very old-school at the same time.” He said frequent vocalist Morgan Kibby does not appear on the album, but there are many “unexpected guests.” He also said the lyrics take inspiration from 1970s and ’80s television. “Shows like Punky Brewster and Who’s the Boss,” he explained. “I feel like TV shows are starting to sound and look the same. There’s no more passion anymore. So this album is a tribute to those old-fashioned shows.”
M83 have begun scheduling tour dates in support of the album. See the current itinerary below.
M83 2016 Tour Dates:
06/16-19 – Dover, DE @ Firefly Music Festival
07/07-09 – Lisbon, PT @ NOS Alive Festival
07/07-09 – Bilbao, ES @ Bilbao BBK Live
08/10-17 – Budapest, HU @ Sziget Festival
08/11-13 – Gothenburg, SE @ Way Out West Festival
08/12-14 – Helsinki, FI @ Flow Festival
