Gus Dapperton, Michelle

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Jess Farran

Gus Dapperton

$22 ($20 adv.).

media release: If you’ve followed the 23-year-old’s career from the bright and charming early singles and EPs to 2018’s full-length album Where Polly People Go to Read, you’ll have recognized that the singer-songwriter-producer has entered new territory here. The new album explores human pain and suffering, but also healing and redemption. Dapperton began writing Orca while on tour in 2018, exhilarated by performing for fans and first-time listeners in countries he’d never visited before, but feeling the stresses of the road as well. “I was unbalanced,” he recalls. “My lifestyle and habits had gotten extreme. I wasn’t getting eight hours of sleep a night, I was drinking and doing drugs often. Wasn’t eating healthy. And on top of it, I was performing. A show can be the most inspirational, emotional high; but if something goes wrong it can be devastating.”

Those precipitous highs and lows, and the desire for home, took Gus to dark places—even if it wasn’t obvious to those around him. One of the nastier aspects of depression is how it sabotages and dismantles connection; you’re alone in your head, feeling unable to communicate what you’re going through, and if you’re a young, physically healthy person the folks around you won’t necessarily see what’s afflicting you.

Gus’s creative decisions in pursuit of a raw sound to match these raw emotions didn’t come easily. “I’m a huge advocate for putting myself in vulnerable positions in my music,” he says but admits that confronting these feelings “was a chance to be open that I was afraid of.” But he pushed himself and, with the help of his friends and family, came out on the other side stronger. “It was cathartic to put these emotions into music,” he says.

Praise for Gus Dapperton + Orca:

"lends a rough edge to his wry hooks and uppity synths." - PAPER Magazine

“Dapperton has reinvented his usual slacker-pop to accommodate his raw emotions...It’s a diverse collection to keep you on your toes.” - NME, ⅘

“Orca’ remains inherently ‘Gus Dapperton’ with his signature growling vocals and effortless alt-pop grooves and indie licks showcasing an artist stepping up musically, while also finding strength in his vulnerability.” - DIY

“bounces through gritty, introspective lyrics on the 10-track project...joyous, poppy moments and booming bass lines” - SPIN

"a record of overcast, glowing pop-rock...Orca is a melancholic departure from Dapperton’s vibe-oriented earlier material; his raw voice is surrounded by full-bodied instrumentation that as much recalls Death Cab For Cutie as it does generational scions like Mac DeMarco and Porches." - UPROXX

“Orca sees Gus Dapperton tackle strong themes of mental health struggles and finding acceptance in his most transparent and honest piece of work yet.” - The Line of Best Fit

"With a unique voice and idiosyncratic vision for his music, he has quickly become an influential force in music" - Rain Magazine

NYC-based collective MICHELLE announces their new album, AFTER DINNER WE TALK DREAMS, due January 28, 2022, via Canvasback Music and Transgressive in the UK. To coincide with the album announcement, MICHELLE shares the lead single "SYNCOPATE". The track aired on Zane Lowe as a World First and features an accompanying video filmed in the NY summer heat.

MICHELLE shares, "The song at its core is about desire. Communicating your desire can feel vulnerable, so we wanted to have some fun with that and show our funky and seductive side. It really feels like we’re hitting the street for the first time by putting this song out into the world."

The album announcement and new track follow a string of celebrated singles released by MICHELLE including "SUNRISE," "UNBOUND" and "FYO", the later remixed with a feature from CHAI, as well as their 2018 debut album HEATWAVE, which came together in just two-weeks and received praise from NME, The FADER and more.

Born-and-bred New Yorkers, MICHELLE formed in 2018 and is comprised of Sofia D'Angelo, Julian Kaufman, Charlie Kilgore, Layla Ku, Emma Lee and Jamee Lockard. The predominantly POC and queer collective mix and match the writing and production groups amongst the six of them.

The hallmarks of MICHELLE’s music—layered vocal harmonies, analog synthesizers, vibrant percussion, smoldering hooks—dominate the sonic landscape of their upcoming album, with the four female vocalists pushing the boundaries of their considerable singing talents as Charlie and Julian’s shared production explodes with fearless creativity and exploration. Despite all the tinkering elsewhere, it is important to note that the vocals remain largely untouched and appear in their organic state. Songs hop across genres, from funky R&B to bedroom slow jams to amped-up beat-heavy anthems and more. The songwriting on AFTER DINNER WE TALK DREAMS has been elevated, as there is a depth and prowess at work that makes good on the promise of the band’s early songs, something they admit was learned by reflecting and allowing room for artistic growth.