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Here’s Everything We Know About Phoenix’s New Album Ti Amo

<> at Randall's Island on June 6, 2014 in New York City.

French guitar-pop masters Phoenix will soon release Ti Amo, their first new album since 2013’s Bankrupt!Ahead of its release, here’s everything we know about the new record.

It’s been in the making since 2014

The Frenchmen actually started working on Ti Amo soon after dropping Bankrupt!. They bunkered down in a former Paris operahouse to work on the project eight hours a day.  “We did a lot of experimenting,” Thomas Mars said of the recording process. “We could go back and say, ‘Let’s get the MIDI from February 12th,’ or, ‘Let’s get the first take.'”

Mars also spoke to Rolling Stone toward the beginning of Ti Amo‘s album-making process, likening it to “the beginning of something – the base of the pyramid.”

Ti Amo uses a wide range of global influences

Guitarist Laurent Brancowitz explained in an interview with The New York Times that the new project recalls “summer and Italian discos.” The profile also mentioned that album cut “Fleur De Lys” was built around a Fela Kuti beat. Phoenix reiterated the inter-continental theme in a press release, saying Ti Amo is “also a record about our European, Latin roots, a fantasized version of Italy.” That’s a lot of continents to fit into a compact album.

The cover does not feature the band

Although Phoenix don’t really put that much effort into being an enigma, the band members haven’t appeared on an album cover since 2006’s It’s Never Been Like That.

This album is 10 songs long

Phoenix albums traditionally are edited to a lean 10 songs, unless you’re counting bonus tracks and deluxe editions. The times may have changed, but the 10-track album length hasn’t.

1. “J-Boy”
2. “Ti Amo”
3. “Tuttifrutti”
4. “Fior Di Latte”
5. “Lovelife”
6. “Goodbye Soleil”
7. ‘Fleur De Lys”
8. “Role Model”
9. “Via Veneto”
10. “Telefono”

The project is partly influenced by tragedy

The mood surrounding Paris has intensified in the years following Bankrupt!‘s release, following anti-immigration sentiment and calamitous terrorist attacks. Phoenix guitarist Christian Mazzalai was trapped in the studio during a police lockdown in the midst of the attack at Bataclan theatre. Lead singer Thomas Mars recalled that, “At some point when we were in the studio, there was a slight sense of guilt… But we were comforted by the idea that the four of us working wasn’t escapism or denial.”

“I think the record came out of darkness, out of concern,” said Glassnote head Daniel Glass told the New York Times. “But what’s resulted is this incredibly colorful record.”

It’s not a total departure, however

Phoenix said in a press release with Ti Amo‘s announcement that the album will focus on “simple, pure emotions: love, desire, lust, and innocence.” They’ve all been core themes throughout Phoenix’s discography.

Phoenix have been playing some of Ti Amo‘s cuts

Phoenix offered a taste of their new stuff in concert. The quartet debuted “Ti Amo,” “Lovelife,” and “Role Model,” in addition to “J-Boy,” for an Antwerp, Belgium crowd for a pair of shows last month. Some more previously unheard Phoenix music appeared in Sofia Coppola’s 30-second Calvin Klein ad, but the song’s title hasn’t been announced.

Only two singles have been officially released

The crystalline lead single “J-Boy” dropped on April 27 and the discotheque-flavored title track came out on May 18.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ve-wbcIfZDI%3Fecver%3D1

https://youtube.com/watch?v=IV1LUVMU7JQ%3Fecver%3D1

But! You can hear a teaser of another song

The little synth flourish at the start of the video for “J-Boy” is taken from “Lovelife,” as fans who Shazamed the song might know. Watch the video—which is excellent, by the way—below.