The UK brothers will share their new record, also titled Energy, on August 28th..
Header image by Hollie Fernando.
Despite it being five years since the release of their last album, Disclosure haven't exactly been quiet. Shortly after their last record (the guest-heavy Settle follow-up Caracal), the UK brothers shared VIP remixes of some of the record's stand-out tracks, before throwing it back to their pre-Settle days with the club-adjacent, dancefloor-ready Moog For Love EP a year later. In 2018, they teamed up with Fatoumata Diawara for a seemingly stand-alone single Ultimatum - their first track in two years, at that point - and then came a five-track Moonlight EP later that year; a five-strong collection of tracks that once again, focused on Disclosure at their all-production, heavy-sampling best.
Since then, Disclosure have continued to be at the top of their game. Not one to spend too much time away from the spotlight, last year welcomed the duo's most commercially successful single to date in the Khalid-featuring Talk (alongside its more production-heavy Disclosure VIP), while this year brought another Khalid collaboration in Know Your Worth, as well as yet another EP exploring the depths of Disclosure's production skillset and the nods to various eras of dance culture they take notes from, in the form of the five-track teaser Ecstasy.
While it's nice to see they're going for quality over quantity (spending five years to work on an album in a streaming-dominated market is a rare occurance these days), it's clear that Disclosure aren't going to let their fans go without a drought, and that's certainly not happening in the latter half of 2020 either. Not content with a stand-alone Khalid single or a full five-track EP, the British duo have also announced news of their long-awaited fifth record ENERGY, expected for release on August 28th with a guest collaborator run sheet of your dreams.
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As you'll soon see, Disclosure's new record is packed to the brims of musicians at the cutting edge of their sound, including both familiar faces and full genres the duo haven't attempted to master in the past. R&B icon Kelis opens the album, while Common, Kehlani and The Internet's Syd find themselves nestled within the tracklisting (the latter two on the same track), while hip-hop makes its way into the Disclosure discography through features alongside slowthai, Aminé and Mick Jenkins. Through in funk master Channel Tres - who feels very much like a modern-day Disclosure in their freshness - and a couple of other highlights, and you've got one hell of an album.
ENERGY, the album's lead single and title track, proves they aren't messing around. It's a halfway point between the club-orientated work of their past EPs and the more guest-friendly work expected on the album, welcoming back one of the duo's formidable discoveries - hip-hop preacher Eric Thomas, whose vocal led the infamous When A Fire Starts To Burn - for a thick and ferocious battle of the duo's production skillset which in five years, doesn't feel outdated at all.
"When we found Eric many years ago, he was like a goldmine of inspirational quotes and motivational speeches. Even if he was speaking to a room of five it was like he was addressing a stadium. He has an immense presence and energy about him that translates so well into music – especially house music," the duo say on working with Eric again, whose inclusion on ENERGY's leading single comes with excitement for fans wanting to see the duo's earlier work explored further in what they're doing now. "This time we cut up various speeches to make something that makes sense. What he says is basically the whole concept for the record, that’s why it became the title track."
There's a tonne more information to get through, but in the meantime, we'll leave Disclosure's pacing rhythms and the magic of Eric Thomas do the talking. Take a dive into ENERGY (the single) below, and catch the tracklisting to ENERGY (the album) underneath, which is expected to be this year's biggest and best dance record with its release on August 28th.
Disclosure - ENERGY LP Tracklisting:
01 Watch Your Step [ft. Kelis]
02 Lavender [ft. Channel Tres]
03 My High [ft. Aminé and slowthai]
04 Who Knew? [ft. Mick Jenkins]
05 Douha (Mali Mali) [ft. Fatoumata Diawara]
06 Fractal (Interlude)
07 Ce N’est Pas [ft. Blik Bassy]
08 ENERGY
09 Thinking ’Bout You (Interlude)
10 Birthday [ft. Kehlani and Syd]
11 Reverie [ft. Common]
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