M83 have shared the five-song ‘Chapter 1’ of their forthcoming album Fantasy, ahead of the album’s release next month.
M83 have today (February 9) released five songs from their upcoming album Fantasy. The surprise drop has been billed as ‘Chapter 1’ of the electro-group’s forthcoming record, which is due to arrive on March 17. Included in the chapter is the already released lead single Oceans Niagara, as well as new arrivals Water Deep, Amnesia, Us And The Rest, Earth To The Sea and Radar, Far and Gone.
The collection accounts for the first six entries on Fantasy’s tracklist, with the remaining songs arriving upon the album’s release. It will mark M83’s follow up to the 2019 project DSVII, which was itself a sequel to their fourth album Digital Shades Vol. 1 released in 2007. Speaking of Fantasy in a press statement, frontman Anthony Gonzalez said “I wanted to be more present lyrically and vocally even if that was daunting at first.”
“I thought if I could achieve that, this album will be more personal than those that came before,” he added. Fantasy has been in the works since as far back as 2021, and will feature assists from musician Joe Berry and producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen, the latter of whom has collaborated with Beck, Paramore and Nine Inch Nails, among others. Speaking of Oceans Niagara upon its release, Happy Mag described the single as a “sci-fi, electro-pop dream.”
In the lead up to DSVII, M83 shared a series of experimental music videos under the collective title Extazus. Each instalment in the three-part film accompanied a song from the album, including Temple Of Sorrow, Lune De Fiel, and Feelings. The series was helmed by French experimental director Bertrand Mandico.
M83’s sixth studio album, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, arrived in 2011. Alongside Gonzalez, the group consists of Loïc Maurin, Kaela Sinclair, Joe Berry and Jordan Lawlor.
