French Polymath ALIAS releases his new album EMBRACE CHAOS - out now via Simone Records
LISTEN TO EMBRACE CHAOS HERE
CONFIRMED FOR WIDE DAYS EDINBURGH MAY 2ND
& FOCUS WALES ON MAY 9 & 11TH
TORONTO, 19th April 2024 - Following on from a run of incredibly diverse and well-received singles these last few months, including “EMPTY HEAD”, “CURSED” and “TRUTH OR TRUST”, French Polymath ALIAS has now returned to release his eagerly-awaited new album ‘EMBRACE CHAOS’, featuring the dazzling new offering “COCKTAILS AND DREAMS”.
On his brilliant second album, French artist ALIAS urges you to EMBRACE CHAOS, as he unveils this intoxicating new collection of songs. This record is a huge statement by a true polymath, whose music reflects the chaos inside – the dark urges we’re often too scared to confront.
‘EMBRACE CHAOS’ is a noticeable departure from the bright psychedelic sound of ALIAS’s earliest work. Buzzing with dark, murky synths and his ominous, reverb-laden vocals, listeners will identify nods to innovators such as Beck, Radiohead, Massive Attack, Nirvana and LCD Soundsystem. The heady visuals this music conjures, meanwhile, is testament to ALIAS’s work contributing to TV and film scores.
The new unveiled single “COCKTAILS AND DREAMS” looks to highlight this varied and multifaceted direction he has been exploring lately. Brimming with a rich and captivating aura that swells and builds throughout, this new outing provides some of the more progressive elements of his latest LP.
Speaking about the track, ALIAS explains, “I started the whole process of Embrace Chaos with this one. An inner chaos we all have inside of us, that needs to be out, a relief… I think there is positive into chaos, so that’s why the song is quite joyful and dancing… I named it ‘COCKTAILS AND DREAMS’ because of a neon light in my basement.”
Raised in the picturesque town of Aix-en-Provence in south France, ALIAS studied jazz at prestigious conservatoires in both Marseilles and his hometown. But growing disillusioned with the strict rules being placed upon him, he decided to step out on his own, first to New York, then to Montreal, Canada, where he was enlisted as a contributor for hit TV shows including Big Little Lies and Sharp Objects.
As the pandemic hit, ALIAS hunkered down and made his debut EP, It’s Not Funny So Stop Smilin’, an ambitious work where the rulebook went sailing out the window. “At this point we had no idea what was happening in the world, and I wanted to have some fun,” he says. “I felt like the best way to approach the music was by removing it from all expectations.” It matched his newly formed artistic persona, as a sort of character created especially for the stage.
Released via Simone Records in 2021, It’s Not Funny So Stop Smilin’ includes the astounding “Kyra Collins”, a trippy collaboration with Canadian artist Beyries full of sun-dappled harmonies and wonky, Beatles-indebted piano. There’s also the frenetic “Why Don’t You Wanna Dance?”, with its buzzsaw guitar riff, and the squelchy sleaze of “Mad”.
Stop Smilin’ was swiftly followed by Jozef, ALIAS’s acclaimed debut that happened to mark a drastic shift in tone in his music. “Each song was written like an emotion felt by this character, Jozef, I’d created,” he explains. “I always want to have a different personality in my music.” A fan of horror films and thrillers, ALIAS spun an intricate web of details about Jozef’s life: “He’s living these weird, extreme feelings. For me it was a way, once again, to express myself through someone who doesn’t really exist.”
Which brings us to EMBRACE CHAOS, his latest opus. Like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, ALIAS is both the genius and the monster on this record; the creator who hides behind the terror he’s unleashed. On “CURSED”, he sings in a frantic, muttering half-rap: “First thing’s first, she said my heart is sick/ I’ve been cursed, you’d better make it quick.” The drums shudder like corrugated steel in a bitter storm; the synths are bright, Eighties-leaning.
What’s immediately apparent on EMBRACE CHAOS is ALIAS’s willingness to lose himself completely in his art. This is a character study of such intensity that, by the time the final track plays, you feel almost uncomfortably intimate with the persona he’s created. “I’m a dance in the dark/ I’m an electric shock,” he hisses on “EMPTY HEAD”, over murky analogue synths and shuffling beats. Immerse yourself in ALIAS’s fascinating world. Embrace the chaos.
‘EMBRACE CHAOS’ Tracklist:
SAIGON
EMPTY HEAD
TRUTH OR TRUST
BAD KIDS
DEMO 3 (I WANNA HUG YOU SO BAD)
MOTHER LOVE
EVIL TWIN
WATER CALLS
CURSED
DIET COKE ON ICE
OLD MAN
COCKTAILS AND DREAMS
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