New Releases category interest

Today, Milky Chance share Living In A Haze, a new album that finds the billions-streaming German duo of Clemens Rehbein and Phillipp Dausch obliterating any notion of genre. On their independent debut, Milky Chance thrive on writing the tightest, most groove-forward alt-pop songs imaginable — and then going back and distorting each sound into its wildest iteration. Featuring guest appearances from Malian artist Fatoumata Diawara (on the humid Afrobeat-meets-reggae track “Flicker In The Dark”) and Canadian singer Charlotte Cardin (the baroque garage shuffle “History Of Yesterday”), it’s Milky Chance at their best: Sophisticated and adventurous compositions imbued with introspective themes and executed with an exuberant, childlike creativity that feels truly unleashed. 

Says the band: “We stepped out of our comfort zone to make this album. It was freeing and felt like a new chapter for us. We gave ourselves the space and energy to really dive deep into writing and producing, tried out new things, worked with incredible collaborators like Charlotte Cardin and Fatoumata Diawara, and created, what we think, is a colorful and diverse album.” 

It’s yet another intriguing progression in Milky Chance's journey, transitioning from a teenage recording project to a prominent alternative-pop act that dominates the festival scene. From a disparate assembly of influences — The Police, Sublime, Burna Boy, Rosalia, Stromae, Fred again… — Living In A Haze applies the band’s endless musical curiosity to the propulsive logic of the best club music while delivering masterful songcraft. 

Watch the Living In A Haze album visualizer here. 

Throughout Living In A Haze, Milky Chance effortlessly blends elements of New Wave, 80s synth-pop, and reggae with contemporary club sounds, afrobeat, and deep house, resulting in an unrelenting and thoroughly irresistible summer sound. Its sonic breadth is remarkable: “Golden” is a dusky and wistful production that was hailed as “effortlessly cool alt-pop” (Acid Stag) and “a honey-glazed ray of sun” (Indie Shuffle), while the delicately unfolding album closer “Frequency of Love” shows a softer side to Milky Chance, singing with raw emotion as they weave in and out of alluring sub-bass textures and vocoder choirs. 

Lead single “Living In A Haze” — a tight, post-Strokes haymaker — is fast rising up the Alternative radio charts, and has helped propel the band into Spotify’s Top 500 Highest-Streaming Artists. It joins “Colorado” and “Synchronize” as the third radio and streaming smash from the album.

Watch the video for “Living In A Haze” here. 

Their latest release, “Purple Tiger” is an irresistibly off-kilter track that ticks along with a nervous momentum before erupting into a call-and-response chorus. It’s like a New Order song looking in a funhouse mirror, its austere rhythms colored with careening synth figures and Rehbein’s defiant falsetto.

Listen to “Purple Tiger” here.

The achievements of Milky Chance are truly remarkable. Their breakthrough hit “Stolen Dance” just entered the exclusive 1 billion stream club on Spotify and they’ve played Coachella, Lollapalooza, and top venues worldwide. They’ve had some legit US radio hits, including 5 Top 20 Alternative Hits (including a #1 for “Stolen Dance), 4 Triple A Top 10s (including #1’s for “Stolen Dance” and 2020’s “Don’t Let Me Down” and #2 for 2022’s “Colorado”). 

This summer, the duo is on their biggest-ever North American tour, weaving their way across 48 different US and Canadian cities with Young The Giant and 66 cities in total. Earlier this week, they performed two straight sold-out nights at New York City's Pier 17, and August’s show at Colorado's Red Rocks Amphitheater is already sold out. Learn more about the tour here and see below for the full routing.

North America 2023 Tour Dates

5/28 Quebec City, QC

5/29 Ottawa, ON

5/30 Montreal, QC *

5/31 Toronto, ON *

6/2 Asbury Park, NJ *

6/3 New York City, NY *

6/4 New York City, NY *

6/6 Portland, ME

6/7 Bridgeport, CT *

6/9 Boston, MA *

6/10 Columbia, MD *

6/11 Philadelphia, PA *

6/12 Harrisburg, PA

6/13 Lewiston, NY *

6/15 Grand Rapids, MI

6/16 Detroit, MI *

6/17 Columbus, OH *

6/18 Pittsburgh, PA *

6/20 Cincinnati, OH *

6/21 Cleveland, OH *

6/23 Chicago, IL *

6/24 St. Louis, MO *

6/25 Indianapolis, IN *

6/26 Madison, WI

6/27 Minneapolis, MN *

6/28 Des Moines, IA

6/30 Oklahoma City, OK *

7/1 Kansas City, MO *

7/13 Atlanta, GA *

7/14 Nashville, TN *

7/15 Charlotte, NC *

7/16 Raleigh, NC *

7/18 Richmond, VA *

7/19 Charleston, SC

7/20 St. Augustine, FL *

7/21 Tampa, FL *

7/22 Miami, FL *

7/25 Birmingham, AL *

7/26 New Orleans, LA

7/27 Houston, TX *

7/28 Austin, TX *

7/29 Irving, TX *

7/31 El Paso, TX

8/1 Albuquerque, NM *

8/3 Salt Lake City, UT *

8/4 Flagstaff, AZ *

8/5 Phoenix, AZ *

8/7 Bozeman, MT

8/8 Spokane, WA *

8/10 Vancouver, BC *

8/11 Seattle, WA *

8/12 Troutdale, OR *

8/14 Boise, ID *

8/15 Bend, OR *

8/16 Reno, NV

8/17 San Francisco, CA *

8/18 Santa Barbara, CA *

8/19 Irvine, CA *

8/20 San Diego, CA *

8/24 Calgary, AB

8/25 Edmonton, AB

8/26 Saskatoon, SK

8/28 Billings, MT

8/30 Morrison, CO *

8/31 Dillon, CO *

9/1 Aspen CO

*With Young The Giant