Stay Close To Music, the forthcoming new studio album from musical chameleon Mykki Blanco, is unlike anything they have released before.
Out October 14 on Transgressive, the adventurous and expansive LP promises to shatter any previously held assumptions about Mykki’s artistry, leaving them free to define their sound for themselves.
Today Mykki shares the LP’s lead single, the Lou Reed-inspired French Lessons, which features Kelsey Lu, while ANOHNI lends a feature on the album version.
“The song is a reflection on the possibility of true love, on the notion that one truly can experience what we see in the Hollywood films,” Mykki reveals.
“The song is also this ode in a way to Lou Reed. I’m not what I would consider a singer at all, I’m a talk-singer so I look to people in history who have that same style: Tom Petty, Jonathan Richmond of the Modern Lovers, Lou Reed – these are all amazing ‘talk singers’ and I feel comfortable in that style vocally.”
“The song was originally composed by FaltyDL and it encapsulated so much sonically of what I was trying to articulate with my own music. FaltyDL has a way of touching on the spiritual subtleties of life. He is able somehow to create mystery out of banality, to create tranquility and fill a room with zen like vibrations, something unnameable and yet so familiar a feeling.”
“Kelsey Lu, I’m sure will go on to become one of the legendary artists of my generation. A classically trained virtuoso with a voice that sounds ancient like a bell ringing for the first time, like something out of a Greek odyssey. I have been a long time super fan of Kelsey’s and collaborating with her on this song has been a very special moment for myself and FaltyDL.”
French Lessons comes alongside a striking video shot in Georgia (EU) and directed by Felix Kalmenson.
“The video concept was a reflection on the ongoing struggles for queer liberation in Georgia which is felt more than ever against the backdrop of violent reactionary protests to the queer movement in June/July of this year and many years prior.”
“The video drew on the legacy of the bisexual Georgian/Armenian film director Sergei Parajanov and his contributions to the aesthetic landscape of Georgian contemporary culture. Together we constructed a timeless odyssey of two lovers seeking emancipation and acceptance in a world mired by conflict and violence.”
French Lessons is out now.
Image: Irakli Gabelaia
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