About this item

“Stay Close To Music”, the new studio album from Mykki Blanco, is unlike anything they have released before. Adventurous and expansive, it shatters any previously held assumptions about Mykki’s artistry, leaving them free to define their sound for themselves.

Throughout their evolution, poet, artist, musician Mykki Blanco has continuously blurred genres - pulling rave, trap, grunge and punk influences into a swirling pool of experimental hip hop that celebrated queer and trans experiences.

Ultimately Mykki concluded they wanted to create their own sonic universe from scratch. To facilitate this, they collaborated with producer and multi-instrumentalist FaltyDL, who allowed them to envision new soundscapes built from lush, live instrumentation.

The songs spun together through numerous jam sessions, with writing taking place in Lisbon, Paris, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. By 2019, Mykki realized that they were working on two different records concurrently. The first became 2021’s lauded mini-album Broken Hearts & Beauty Sleep and now Mykki readies the second collection of the sessions via Stay Close To Music.

“I wanted to see what it would be like to go back and be a musician from another time where you had to start every ingredient raw from scratch. That process, ideology and that way of making has not only changed me as a musician, it has creatively changed me as a person.”

“Stay Close To Music” features contributions from from Michael Stripe, Saul Williams, ANOHNI, Dianna Gordon, Devendra Banhart, Jónsi and more.

Mykki Blanco is an artist revered for their fearless ability to evolve, placing their creative exploration at the forefront of their career. With “Stay Close To Music”, Mykki Blanco is leveling up. By stepping into unchartered territory untethered and free, they have fulfilled their ambitions and created a rich, complex and accomplished sound that belongs entirely to them and which only solidifies their status as one of the world’s most innovative musical pioneers.

TRACK LISTING

01 - Pink Diamond Bezel
02 - Steps (feat. Saul Williams And MNEK)
03 - French Lessons (feat. ANOHNI And Kelsey Lu)
04 - Ketamine (feat. Slug Christ)
05 - Your Love Was A Gift (feat. Diana Gordon)
06 - Family Ties (feat. Michael Stipe)
07 - Your Feminism Is Not My Feminism (feat. Ah-Mer-Ah-Su)
08 - Lucky
09 - Interlude
10 - Trust A Little Bit
11 - You Will Find It (feat. Devendra Banhart)
12 - Carry On (feat. Jónsi)
13 - French Lessons [Single Version] (feat. Kelsey Lu)