Harry Styles says his upcoming album is inspired by seeing LCD Soundsystem at a festival in Madrid.
- READ MORE: Harry Styles takes things slow and steady on new single ‘Aperture’
The soloist and former One Direction star released his new single ‘Aperture’ yesterday (Thursday January 22). It’s the first from his upcoming fourth solo album, ‘Kiss All The Time. Disco Occasionally’ which has been executive produced by Kid Harpoon and is set for release on March 6. Visit here to pre-order.
‘Aperture’ notably debuts a new electronic-inspired sound for Styles, whose last LP was the synth-pop influenced ‘Harry’s House‘ in 2022.
In an interview with Greg James on BBC Radio 1 this morning (Friday January 23), the singer has explained that seeing LCD Soundsystem live inspired his new direction.
“I went to see LCD Soundsystem a couple times,” he told James. “I saw them at a festival in Madrid, that was in like a car park, basically, and then, and then I saw them again at Brixton, and it was just, it’s like, so joyous.”
“And when you’re kind of watching them be so like immersed in it, I was, I think the inspiration from them came of like, ‘oh, that’s how I want to feel when I’m on stage’. And then that kind of led to the kind of music I was making,” he said.
Styles went on to say he was also listening to The Durutti Column and going out more, which also inspired his new direction. “It’s kind of like an like an energy of what I wanted to feel when I was playing,” he explained.
The musician then explained that much of the album has been inspired by becoming an audience member again, after his colossal worldwide trek for his ‘Love On Tour’.
“It’s really fun. And I think for me, the most important thing that has happened to me the last like, couple years was, I think it was just about getting on the other side of the audience experience,” he said.
“I think having so many years being on the stage, the last couple years, like, allowed me to be a real audience member and, like, be in the crowd and kind of have a reminder of like, oh, this is why this is special to people, and this is why this feels so good to kind of come together and be with a group of strangers and dance to music. I really experienced that for myself in a way that I hadn’t had much of previously.”
Styles has also shared that he needed to “fall in love with music all over again” after taking three years off after releasing ‘Harry’s House’ in 2022.
NME‘s Rhian Daly gave the single four stars, in a review that read: “It’s also Styles as we’ve not heard him before. Rather than the loosely retro pop-rock of ‘Harry’s House’ or the grand theatrics of ballads like ‘Sign Of The Times’, the star heads in the direction of electronic music.
“‘Aperture’ is propelled by a lightly thumping beat that’s made more or less euphoric by the stabs of house piano that dip in and out, the jittery blasts of distorted fuzz, and the 31-year-old’s resonant delivery in the chorus: “We belong together”. Add in a series of drawn-out, droning chords and it’s (likely) as close as we’re going to get to Styles fronting LCD Soundsystem.”
In support of ‘Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally’, Styles has also announced a huge comeback tour, which will see him play residencies in seven major cities around the world.
The ‘Together, Together’ tour will consist of six nights at London’s Wembley Stadium and a total of 30 shows in New York’s Madison Square Garden, as well as strings of concerts in Amsterdam, São Paulo, Mexico City, Melbourne and Sydney.
In total, Styles will play 50 dates from May to December, and he will be joined by names including Robyn, Shania Twain, Fcukers, Jorja Smith, Jamie xx, Fousheé and Skye Newman. You can see a full list of dates and all ticket information here.
Styles first started teasing his new album last week, through a series of posters with the phrase ‘We Belong Together’ that popped up in cities across the globe. He then sent out a brief, lo-fi voice recording to fans on WhatsApp, which contained audio of him singing the line, “we belong together”.
