K. Flay Announces Fifth Album 'Mono' With New Single Shy
Monday, 12 June 2023
Written by Jon Stickler
Photo: Danielle Ernst
K. Flay has announced her new album.
The two-time Grammy Award nominee will drop 'Mono' through GIANT Music on September 15, following up 'Inside Voices / Outside Voices', released in 2022.
The 37-year-old co-produced the entire record, with co-songwriting credits going to Jason Suwito, Jeoff Harris, Dave Hammer, Pink Slip, and Paul Meany, who served as executive producer.
Its title is a nod to Flay's brush with hearing loss last summer, which saw her go completely deaf in her right ear due to a rare condition of SSNHL (Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss) and Labyrinthitis.
The trauma caused Flay to cancel 2022 tour dates, with the singer-songwriter contemplating whether to continue making music. Having persisted with treatment, and despite the obvious obstacles, she is set to return with what is described as her most experimental album yet. She said:
"I started making this record as a person with two working ears. I finished it with only one and this is also the first record for which, from start to finish, I was sober.
"'Mono' is about navigating loss, about looking your aloneness in the eye and deciding not to drink or vape or have sex or watch a television show, but to stand there and accept it, to understand its power. There is only one person on this earth with your mind, your creativity, your perspective. You're a first and last pressing, a 1 of 1, and 1 is a scary number, but life is scary and funny. And sad. And beautiful. I hope this record is a reminder of that, and how we are all experiencing our aloneness together."
To accompany the news, Flay has dropped Shy, an electronic, alt-pop track that follows the lead single, Raw Raw, shared in May. She explained:
"In my music, I’m so comfortable being loud and brazen, but in my personal life, I can be a bit shy. Especially when it comes to romantic relationships. I wrote this song after I'd just met my (now) girlfriend. And I sent it to her out of the blue. I guess I only know how to flirt through songs? It worked though.
"Dave Hammer produced this one and he and I have this crazy energy between us. I think when we get together to make music we're able to disregard the 'shoulds' and be purely creative together. A lot of the guitar parts were just freestyle takes, us messing around, but there was a wildness to them that hit us both in the right places."
Flay will support the LP with a UK and European tour in the autumn. She also has US dates in the diary for the summer. Tickets are on sale now.
'Mono' tracklist:
1. Are You Serious?
2. Carsick
3. Raw Raw
4. Punisher
5. Irish Goodbye (featuring Vic Fuentes Of Pierce The Veil)
6. Hustler
7. Spaghetti (featuring Kid Sistr)
8. Bar Soap
9. Watch Me Pt. 1
10. In America
11. Shy
12. Watch Me Pt. 2
13. Chaos Is Love
14. Yes I’m Serious
15 Perfectly Alone
K Flay Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows
Wed June 28 2023 - LOS ANGELES California - Wiltern (USA)
Wed August 09 2023 - PORTLAND Maine - State Theatre Portland Maine (USA)
Thu August 10 2023 - SOUTH BURLINGTON Vermont - Higher Ground Ballroom at Higher Ground - Complex (USA)
Fri August 11 2023 - ALBANY New York - Empire Live (USA)
Sat August 12 2023 - ALBANY New York - Empire Live (USA)
Mon October 02 2023 - MANCHESTER Gorilla
Tue October 03 2023 - LONDON Electric Brixton
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