Next week on September 22, acclaimed French hip hop/downtempo producer Wax Tailor will issue his third album, In the Mood for Life on New York-Francophone imprint Le Plan Music. (It will initially be available via digital outlets; physical copies hit stores on October 27.) He also kicks off a U.S. tour next month.
Here’s a bit from the press release:
Fueled by the energy of relentless touring he has written his third and best album to date “In the Mood for Lifeâ€. Written in both Paris and New York City, this necromancer of forgotten melodies is able to blend Soul, Funk, Hip-Hop, and 60’s Pop Music into a 52 minute journey.
Wax Tailor masters the art of reinventing oneself, and although his signature sound is immediately identifiable, a style oft compared to melancholic melodies reminiscent of The Cocteau Twins blended with a delicate balance of Hip-Hop seldom seen these days, this new album establishes a true evolution both in terms of production and song writing. String instruments, which were once just extras, now assume a more prominent role (“Dry Your Eyes”,” Go Without Me”), and where genres once crossed path from one track to another, they now collide within a track (“This Train”, “Fireflies”). The resulting sound is denser, more organic and the song writing more finely chiseled.
With the opening notes, the mood sets the stage. Wax Tailor is now the conductor of melodies, the director of an aural movie whose urban roots meet the perfect casting. Throughout this album, he appropriates a multitude of references with a very personal touch. His music is beyond genres and defies categorization, it is a modern brand of pop music, designed with a rigor and an expertise that betrays the love this artist puts into his craft.
Here’s the track listing:
- 1. “City Vapors (Opening)”
- 2. “Dragon Chasers” (feat. Charlotte Savary)
- 3. “Already Begun (Skit)”
- 4. “B Boy on Wax” (feat. Speech Defect)
- 5. “Street Scent (Skit)”
- 6. “No Pity”
- 7. “Dry Your Eyes” (feat. Sara Genn)
- 8. “Masquerade Theme (Skit)”
- 9. “Until Heaven Stops The Rain” (feat. Mattic)
- 10. “More Songs (Skit)”
- 11. “Leave it” (feat. Dionne Charles)
- 12. “Escape Theme (Skit)”
- 13. “Go Without Me” (feat. Charlotte Savary)
- 14. “This Train” (feat. Voice & Ali Harter)
- 15. “Sit & Listen”
- 16. “Fireflies” (feat. Charlotte Savary & Mattic)
- 17. “Say Yes” (feat. ASM)
- 18. “I Own You” (feat. Charlie Winston)
- 19. “Greenfields” (feat. Charlotte Savary)
Here are the tour dates:
- 10/02: Blender Theater, New York, NY
- 10/03: Great Scott, Boston, MA
- 10/06: Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA
- 10/08: DC9, Washington, DC
- 10/09: Jazz All Year Round, Montreal, QC
- 10/10: Drake Hotel, Toronto, ON
- 10/12: Schubas, Chicago, IL
- 10/13: Nectar Lounge, Seattle, WA
- 10/14: Hawthorne Theatre, Portland, OR
- 10/16: Slim’s, San Francisco, CA
- 10/17: Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA
- 10/18: Casbah, San Diego, CA
10/13-10/18: w/Abstract Rude
