Hot Chip have shared details of their ninth album ‘A Long Way From Kansas’ – check out the single ‘Random Violence’ below.
The group’s latest album, set to arrive on January 8 via Domino, takes its title from ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and nods towards Dorothy and her dog’s journey back home to a sense of normality and safety.
It’s preceded by ‘Random Violence’; a tribute to Optimo’s Keith McIvor, aka JD Twitch, who was a DJ, curator and one of the country’s most forward-thinking promoters, whose positivity is echoed in the track’s “human connection”, according to band member Al Doyle.
Joe Goddard elaborates: “Last year in September our old friend and brilliant DJ Keith McIvor of Optimo in Glasgow passed away after a diagnosis of an inoperable brain tumour a few months earlier.
“He largely inspired the words of the song. He was a passionate music lover and a staunch believer in socialism. Many of the words relate directly to his death and to memories of being in Sub Club in Glasgow where we met 20 years ago.”
An accompanying music video, directed by Jack Cole, features the all-female progressive morris dancing side Boss Morris and celebrates togetherness, music, resistance, love and a life well lived.
Of the visual, Doyle shares: ‘We invited some woodland spirits, cursed animals and crazed dancers to join us in a celebration of humanity, remembrance and resistance.
“The genesis of the idea came from the Optimo Espookio Halloween parties we experienced at Sub Club and we wanted to capture that feeling in the video. It was exactly as much fun as it looks, which is to say we had an absolute blast.”
‘A Long Way From Kansas’ is out January 8 and available to pre-order from Amazon, HMV, Rough Trade, Townsend and more, with exclusive editions available on Hot Chip’s Online Store. Listen to ‘Random Violence’ below.
Tracklist: Hot Chip – ‘A Long Way From Kansas’
1. Stuck Around
2. Waiting Around
3. Random Violence
4. The Mask Is Slipping
5. Splinter
6. Shortcut To Love
7. Me In Your Head (feat. Beth Ditto)
8. Hook Me Up
9. Secular Hymns
10. The Garden (feat. Eddie Chacon)
11. Crushing
In support of the album, Hot Chip will embark on a tour of Europe, the UK and Ireland throughout February and March, with fans who pre-order ‘A Long Way From Kansas’ gaining access to the band’s pre-sale.
Tickets go on sale Friday (October 23) and are available here. The full list of dates is below.
MARCH
4 – 3Olympia, Dublin
6 – Leeds Beckett Students’ Union, Leeds
8 – SWG3 Galvanizers, Glasgow
9 – Albert Hall, Manchester
10 – O2 Academy, Bristol
12 – Exhibition White City, London
