London 5-piece Hot Chip's debut album, There's a quite lovable oddball quality to this album, hints of Prince, the Beastie Boys, Beck.... a souled-up folk vision of chilled out pop music with a twist. 2005. A loungey, electropop sheen covers much of the music, but more than anything, Hot Chip displays an omnivorous approach to the entirety of alt, ‘60s pop and electronic music history. Their songs are infectious, silly and often weirdly beautiful. With singer-songwriters Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard at the core, Hot Chip's mixture of textured, smart, lo-fi groove with actual humour is incredibly rare, and great

TRACK LISTING

A1. Take Care  
A2. The Beach Party 
A3. Keep Fallin'  
A4. Playboy  
A5. Crap Kraft Dinner  
B1. Down With Prince  
B2. Bad Luck  
B3. You Ride, We Ride, In My Ride  
B4.Shining Escalade  
B5. Baby Said One One One 

UK electronic artpop outfit Hot Chip provide the perfect antidote to these strange and uncertain times with the latest release in the hugely popular LateNightTales artist-curated series.

Along with featuring new music from the band, they have selected music from some of the most engaging artists of the 21st century, taking in pulsating electronic rhythms, hypnotic grooves and leftfield ambience.

Spearheaded by founders Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard, Hot Chip are one of the UK’s most interesting and much-loved acts. Since releasing their debut album ‘Coming On Strong’ in 2004, they have received a Grammy Award nomination (‘Ready for the Floor’) and Mercury Prize nomination (‘The Warning’) and their seventh studio album, last year’s ‘A Bath Full of Ecstasy,’ received rave reviews across the globe from both critics and fans.

A unique, personal collection that is both euphoric and melancholic.

“I think we all had slightly different understandings of what a Late Night Tales compilation might consist of; varying interpretations of the brief. For some the mix might be what you’d want to listen to as your late night continues, after a night out. For others maybe it suggested a selection of music for listening to as you drift off to sleep; then again it could just be music evocative of night time, or concerned with its traditionally ‘darker’ moods,” says Taylor.

Hot Chip’s ‘LateNightTales’ opens with the simplistic beauty of Christina Vantzou’s ‘At Dawn,’ before morphing in to the first of four exclusive tracks from the band - the floating, transcendent ‘Nothing’s Changed’, before Rhythm & Sound ft. Cornell Campbell serve up the heavy dub classic, ‘King In My Empire’.

The journey continues with Pale Blue’s ‘Have You Passed Through This Night’, a silky, cold wave disco track, while Suzanne Kraft’s ‘Femme Cosmic’ and Fever Ray’s ‘To The Moon and Back’ provide squelchy synth-pop. Furthermore, the punchy ‘Much To Touch’ from Bolton-born, Berlin based producer Planningtorock and an ethereal cover of Velvet Underground’s ‘Candy Says’ by our hosts add an element of displacement and detachment.

Elsewhere, other highlights include an appearance from synth-pop auteur Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith with ‘Who I Am & Why I Am Where’ and new material from Alexis’ ‘other’ band, the improv-mavens About Group, along with the adventurous ‘Workaround Two’ from electronic experimentalist Beatrice Dillon and German composer, Nils Frahm’s beautifully evocative ‘Ode’. But it is left to Alexis’ father to have the final word, with an elegant excerpt from the daring ‘Finnegans Wake’ by James Joyce.

“We’ve put together a mix of music which ties all of these ideas together and represents some of our favourite music new and old, some of it directly influential on Hot Chip and some of it music we have discovered and loved, been surprised by and connected to. There are three new songs of ours which we’re really proud of, and which I think connect naturally with the nocturnal world the compilation speaks of, and a cover of ‘Candy Says’ which is one of the first songs the very early version of Hot Chip played when we were still at school,” says Taylor.

The LateNightTales series was established back in 2001 with Fila Brazilia taking to the controls and mixing up the first of what would continue to be the first choice of music connoisseurs worldwide. Since then, the series has seen releases from the likes of The Flaming Lips, Floating Points, David Holmes, Bonobo, Jon Hopkins, Röyksopp and many more.

STAFF COMMENTS

Martin says: Two decades into their career and it’s fair to say that the enduring electro-poppers know a thing or two about a tune, and their entry into the Late Night Tales series is brimming with them. Any DJ mix which includes Rhythm & Sound, Nils Frahm and a cover version of the Velvet Underground is fine by me.

TRACK LISTING

CD:
01. Christina Vantzou – At Dawn
02. Hot Chip – Nothing’s Changed (Exclusive Track)
03. Rhythm & Sound Feat Cornell Campbell – King In My Empire
04. Pale Blue – Have You Passed Through This Night
05. Suzanne Kraft - Femme Cosmic
06. Fever Ray – To The Moon And Back
07. Planningtorock - Much To Touch
08. Charlotte Adigéry – 1,618
09. Mike Salta – Hey Moloko
10. Matthew Bourne – Somewhere I Have Never Travelled (for Coral Evans)
11. Hot Chip – Candy Says (Exclusive Velvet Underground Cover Version)
12. Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith – Who I Am And Why Am I Where
13. About Group – The Long Miles
14. Beatrice Dillon – Workaround Two
15. Hot Chip – Worlds Within Worlds (Exclusive Track)
16. Daniel Blumberg - The Bomb
17. Nils Frahm - Ode
18. Hot Chip – None Of These Things (Exclusive Track)
19. Neil Taylor - Finnegan's Wake Excerpt (Exclusive Spoken Word Piece)

LP:
A1. Christina Vantzou - At Dawn (2:51)
A2. Hot Chip - Nothing's Changed (4:37)
A3. Rhythm & Sound Ft Cornell Campbell - King In My Empire (Burial Mix) (6:26)
A4. Pale Blue - Have You Passed Through This Night (6:20)
B1. Suzanne Kraft - Femme Cosmic (4:43)
B2. Fever Ray - To The Moon And Back (4:38)
B3. PlanningToRock - Much To Touch (4:42)
B4. Charlotte Adigery - 1,618 (5:59)
C1. Mike Salta - Hey Moloko (4.05)
C2. Matthew Bourne - Somewhere I Have Never Travelled (4:04)
C3. Hot Chip - Candy Says (3:31)
C4. Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - Who I Am & Why I Am Where (5:21)
C5. Beatrice Dillon - Workaround Two (4:22)
D1. Hot Chip - Worlds Within Worlds (5:38)
D2. Daniel Blumberg - The Bomb (4:59)
D3. Nils Frahm - Ode (4:35)
D4. Hot Chip - None Of These Things (4:04)
D5. Neil Taylor - Finnegan's Wake Excerpt (1:48)

Everyone's favourite electro-pop imps, the stadium shaking, body moving, high-note hitting Hot Chip are back with a BRAND NEW ALBUM. Dripping in lyrical references to the halcyon days of rave and the sleek synth-funk they've perfected over the past fifteen years, "A Bath Full Of Ecstasy" is primed to make you dance, dream and catch more than a few feels.

Switching up their workflow to collaborate with outside producers from the outset, Hot Chip enlisted the dancefloor clout of Philippe Zdar (the French touch legend who's added club dynamics to Cat Power, Beastie Boys and Phoenix, and makes up one half of Cassius) and indie expert Rodaidh McDonald (famed for his work with The XX, Sampha and David Byrne). The result is the perfect combination of classic Hot Chip, the bold flavours of Zdar's ouvre and the emotional impact of McDonald's productions. 

The record is a celebration of joy but recognises the struggle it can take to get to that point of happiness. You can hear the pleasure Hot Chip had in creating this album and they want to pass on that feeling to the listener. It is time to get lost in "A Bath Full of Ecstasy".

TRACK LISTING

1. Melody Of Love
2. Spell
3. Bath Full Of Ecstasy
4. Echo
5. Hungry Child
6. Positive
7. Why Does My Mind
8. Clear Blue Skies
9. No God

Way back when (approx 12 years ago), in those glory days of dingy basements and gaffa taped trainers, a whole new genreration of dancers were taking a journey of musical discovery at the the invitation of one Erol Alkan and his banging clubnight Trash. Electroclash, nu-disco, post-punk, punk-funk, nu rave, techno, there was a fair bit of techno, and indie cuts all rubbed shoulders, pogoed and made out in the middle of the dancefloor, getting totally fucked up as Erol threw them into the blender. This series sees the Phantasy man showcase his ear for a tune and hand for a killer rework with retrospective series of his best reinterpretations.
It was 2006, synth-pop kings Hot Chip had just dropped "The Warning" and made their ascent to god-emperor status. They drop a heart-rending melancho-disco single called "Boy From School", and enlist London's premier party starter Erol Alkan to transform it into an extended, kraut-tinged, lightly scuzzed take on the classic Kompakt sound. The B-side provides another bittersweet spectacular via Erol's hair-raising, chill-prompting take on Connan Mockasin's indie winner "Forver Dolphin Love". Offering euphoria, optimism and melancholy on a widescreen scale, this cinematic rework became a must have for festival DJs and anyone looking to tug at some club heartstrings.

And just like that, with the sleazy sound of a robotic vocal, Hot Chip are back to defend their crown as undisputed electro-pop lotharios. Now onto their sixth album, the oddball outfit are in vintage form, hitting us with this energetic LP, which reflects all that's come before it without simply treading water. Opening track "Huarache Lights" is as well formed a pop song as you're likely to hear all year, combining breakbeats and disco samples with loose white funk, miami freestyle elements and classic Hot Chip shimmer. For those who've been down since day one, the quirky synth-funk of "Love Is The Future" and "Started Right" offer a more mature take on the sounds first heard on "Coming On Strong", while "White Wine And Fried Chicken" and "So Much Further To Go" are classic Hot Chip ballads in the same vein as "In The Privacy Of Our Love". At the top of the B-side, "Dark Night" sees the group heading into new territories, adding sweeping symphonic strings and distorted guitar to a sublime 80s styled pop groove. If you come to the record looking for the dancefloor stylings of "One Life Stand" and "In Our Heads", the synth heavy lilt of "Easy To Get" and the housed up magic of "Need You Now" should do you nicely, softening you up for the big psychedelic finish of "Why Make Sense?". And coming from one of the world's most unconventional pop acts, why indeed? 

Due to a unique and bespoke printing technique which has never been used before, the album will come in one of 501 different colours. Combined with subtle variations of the design, this means that EVERY copy of the album, on both CD and LP, will feature completely unique artwork. Visually and sonically adventurous and innovative, this is a giant leap forward for a band with plenty more to give.