JAMES VINCENT MCMORROW GOLD – TRACK OF THE DAY

James Vincent McMorrow has announced plans to stream his forthcoming second album, ‘Post Tropical’, a week early on iTunes – joining an elite list of artists (Daft Punk, Arctic Monkeys) to have also partnered up with the store. ‘Post Tropical’ has also been made Radio 1’s Album of the Week by Zane Lowe, who made new track ‘Gold’ – also premiering today – his Hottest Record In the World. James has been announced for Coachella this morning, and will play an intimate in-store at Rough Trade East on January 15 (a sold-out UK tour, including a Barbican date, begins on January 24).

Already receiving significant critical acclaim, ‘Post Tropical’ has been preceded by the stunning debut single ‘Cavalier’, which debuted on Noisey, topped Hype Machine, and has been playlisted at 6Music and XFM: James premieres a solo, piano-version of the track today, recorded in France. A new song, ‘Red Dust’, was the second in a trilogy of short films made to accompany the record by acclaimed director Aoife Mcardle (Beck, Jon Hopkins, Anna Calvi).

The follow-up to the platinum-selling ‘Early in the Morning’, the framework of ‘Post Tropical’ was constructed over eight months. The recording itself took place on a pecan farm half a mile from the Mexican border – which the likes of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Beach House and Animal Collective have all called home at one point. Its broadened horizons may come as a surprise to everyone but James and the people who know him best. “I found a zip drive recently, which dates back to before I made my first record, and I’d re-recorded every single part of the N.E.R.D album – apart from the vocals – just for the joy of it. I wanted to give this record the feel and movement of the hip-hop records that I love.”

What emerged was ‘Post Tropical’ – complete with the paradoxical, ‘wish-you-were-here postcard’ artwork (juxtaposing a palm tree with a polar pear). “It’s so exhausting trying to keep up with styles of music that pop up one week, and disappear the next,” says James. “For me, ‘Post Tropical’ evokes a style of music without you having a clue what it sounds like. It’s warm and familiar, but there’s something there that’s maybe not quite what you think it is. I just wanted to make the most beautiful thing I could imagine.”