Photo by Shervin Lainez

Today, Grammy-award-winning French ensemble Phoenix announced their first studio album in five years, Alpha Zulu, is set to release on Nov. 4 via Loyaute/Glassnote Records. The project was self-produced and recorded at Paris’ Musée des Arts Décoratifs, which sits in the Louvre.

In celebration of the album announcement, Phoenix released a new single off the project entitled “Tonight,” featuring Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig along with an accompanying video. On the track, Phoenix does what they’re known for: laying out a catchy melody and releasing enduring vocals that shimmer ever outward. The result is true and reminiscent of the tone they created over two decades and has directly influenced pop culture in its wake. However, in a first for the band – comprised of Thomas Mars (vocals), Christian Mazzalai (guitars), Laurent “Branco” Brancowitz (guitars, keys) and Deck d’Arcy (bass, key bass) – Phoenix’s “Tonight” is a duet, as they’ve never featured another vocalist other than Mars on a track to date.

The video for “Tonight” was directed by Oscar Boyson and was shot in Tokyo and Paris – in part, at the band’s studio in Musée des Arts Décoratifs – with Ezra and Phoenix inhabiting similar spaces in different parts of the world.

The announcement of the album comes as Phoenix are in the midst of their fall tour. In 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the group separated with a shared understanding that Phoenix doesn’t work on music much alone. When they returned to performance and recording, they were “almost in a trance,” according to Mazzalai. Branco shared, “We felt it would be a fantastic adventure to create something out of nothing in a museum. And so with the pandemic, we could live exactly this scene, to be alone in an empty museum.” During the lockdown, they entered the studio through a distant doorway, making a 10-minute walk through dark, empty rooms teeming with history. They were inspired by the draped statues they saw illuminated by flashlights from their phones. Just before their studio sat Napoleon’s gold throne. “I was a bit afraid, when there was too much beauty around us, that to create something could be a bit hard,” added Mazzalai. “But it was the opposite: we couldn’t stop producing music. In these first 10 days, we wrote almost all of the album.” 

Pre-order Alpha Zulu here.

Watch the video for “Tonight” below.

Alpha Zulu
Tonight feat. Ezra Koenig
The Only One
After Midnight
Winter Solstice
Season 2
Artefact
All Eyes On Me
My Elixir
Identical

Phoenix tour dates:

Sept. 7 – Chicago, IL – Riviera Theatre *

Sept. 9 – New York, NY – Radio City Music Hall *

Sept. 11 – New Haven, CT – College Street Music Hall *

Sept. 13 – Boston, MA – Roadrunner *                                   

Sept. 15 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore Philadelphia *

Sept. 16 – Washington, DC – The Anthem *

Sept. 19 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium *

Sept. 20 – Indianapolis, IN – Egyptian Room *

Sept. 22 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant *

Sept. 23 – Bentonville, AR – FOR_MAT Festival

Oct. 6 – Los Angeles, CA – YouTube Theater *

Oct. 7 – Berkeley, CA – Greek Theatre *           

Oct. 10 – Denver, CO – Mission Ballroom *

Oct. 12 – Kansas City, MO – Arvest Bank Theatre *

Oct. 13 – Dallas, TX – South Side Ballroom

Oct. 14 – Austin, TX – ACL

Oct. 18 – Mexico City – Pepsi Center

Oct. 19 – Monterrey, MX – Show Center

Nov. 16 – London, UK – Brixton Academy

Nov. 18 – Milan, IT – Alcatraz Club

Nov. 20 – Berlin, DE – Columbiahalle

Nov. 22 – Brussels, BE – Ancienne Belgique

Nov. 23 – Brussels, BE – Ancienne Belgique

Nov. 25 – Amsterdam, NL – Paradiso

Nov. 26 – Amsterdam, NL – Paradiso (sold out)

Nov. 28 – Paris, FR – Olympia (sold out)

Nov. 29 – Paris, FR – Olympia (sold out)

* – Porches supporting