It has been a while since fans have heard some new original material from M83, but that silence is about to be broken according to Justin Meldal-Johnsen. The "Midnight City" band have completed their new "epic" album, the follow-up to 2011's Grammy-nominated Hurry Up, We're Dreaming. In addition to the album, the band have unveiled some preliminary tour dates in the United States and Europe.
A new M83 album is now finished. I'm very happy with it.
— J. Meldal-Johnsen (@justinmj) December 17, 2015
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, frontman Anthony Gonzalez, described the album as "very epic" and "very different from previous albums."
He drew inspiration from some unconventional sources on this upcoming LP. The French-born musician cites 1970s and 80s television as a main influence on his music, notably shows like Punky Brewster and Who's The Boss.
"We worked with a lot of classic drum sounds, with bass and drinks, an Elk synth, I felt like we really tried to be very modern but also very old-school at the same time," describes Gonzalez.
There are no further details as to when the album will be released or what it will titled, but if the group is going back on the road in 2016, it would make sense for them to release it next year.
Since 2011, the group has toured some, but there have been a few signs of life on the production front from M83. Gonzalez has gone into movies, writing the score for Oblivion, while also collaborating with The Killers, Haim on "Holes In The Sky" for the Insurgent Soundtrack and with Jean-Michel Jarre on "Glory."
The band have announced six festival tour dates thus far in the United States and Europe. Check out the list of gigs below.
06/16-19: Dover, Delaware @ Firefly Festival
07/07-08: Bilbao, Spain @ Bilbao BBK Live
07/09: Lisbon, Portugal @ NOS Alive
08/10-17: Budapest, Hungary @ Sziget Fest
08/12-14: Helsinki, Finland @ Flow Festival Helsinki
08/11-13: Gothenburg, Sweden @ Way Out West Fest
