Alex Anwandter is mastering the art of dance/disco and shines through with his new intricately layered disco-influenced, synth masterpiece “Precipicio”. We dare you to sit still and listen to this—-it’s impossible, we tried! Check out the video and the full press release below:
Alex Anwandter today released his irresistibly danceable, disco-influenced new single “Precipicio,” the latest from his forthcoming new album, El diablo en el cuerpo, due out on May 26th. The track arrives with a Will Colacito-directed video filmed at Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn’s iconic nightclub Sugar Hill, which sees the Chilean artist/producer showcasing his best moves alongside choreographed dancers cast as restaurant staff. The song’s title translates to “Precipice,” and Alex explains: “It’s a song about how when a relationship is crumbling, it can mirror a chaotic, self-destructing world. And if the world is ending, you might as well dance.”
Self-recorded and produced over recent years since his move to New York City, El diablo en el cuerpo (The devil in the body) is Anwandter’s most vibrant work to date–a 16-track neon dance epic, featuring a large ensemble of live musicians, orchestral arrangements, and collaborations with Buscabulla, Julieta Venegas, Javiera Mena, and Christina Rosenvinge. His fifth album presents a wildly extravagant form of dance music built on larger-than-life emotion: all-consuming desire, burning infatuation, and heartbreak so exquisitely brutal it turns transcendent. He matches that unrestrained feeling with his elegant yet adventurous sense of composition—once again tapping into the sophisticated musicality that’s earned him three Latin Grammy Award nominations, including Best Alternative Album for his previous full-length (2018’s critically acclaimed Latinoamericana). In the tradition of pop iconoclasts like Prince, Anwandter hits every pleasure center while exploring infinitely complex matters of the heart and mind and soul—ultimately turning the album into a dazzling meditation on queer life and love.
Anwandter drew from his voluminous musical vocabulary across the album–which first took shape in the early days of lockdown–mining inspiration from such eclectic sources as proto-synth-pop, the avant-garde disco of Arthur Russell, Marvin Gaye’s 1976 quiet-storm classic I Want You, Latin ballads, Brazilian pop, and post-romantic classical music. In addition to the featured collaborators, Anwandter also shaped the album’s maximalist sound with the help of a Buenos Aires-based orchestra and an extensive lineup of female backing vocalists.
“Precipicio” follows album singles “Qué piensas hacer sin mi amor?” (“What are you going to do without my love?”), and “Maricoteca,” which earned praise and support from Rolling Stone, NPR Music (Alt.Latino playlist), Billboard, Remezcla, and more.