Matthew E. White - K Bay (TRANSPARENT LIGHT GREEN)

10.9.21 - INDIES TRANSPARENT LIGHT GREEN VINYL X 2 LP+ DOWNLOAD AND AND 8 PAGE BOOKLET AND LETTER

K Bay, Matthew E. White's first solo album in six years, is the astounding record he has forever aspired to make. A bold reclamation of independence and identity, K Bay establishes White as one of his era's most imaginative artists. These 11 pieces are retro-futurist magic tricks that feel instantly classic and contemporary, the product of a musical mind that has internalized the lessons of his idols and used them to build a brilliant world of his own.

After his solo introduction Big Inner became a surprise hit and his 2015 debut for Domino, Fresh Blood, ascended him to late night TV performances and further critical acclaim, career demands nearly overwhelmed White. His record label / studio Spacebomb, for instance, ballooned into a bevy of obligations and expectations. White followed Fresh Blood with 2017's Gentlewoman, Ruby Man, a set of duets with Flo Morrissey, and continued to produce records for the likes of Natalie Prass, Bedouine, and more - doubtless privileges that sometimes crowded out his ability to work on his own music. So he began building K Bay, a home studio where he could sequester himself with his thoughts. Newly married and starting to talk about children as he inched toward 40, White funnelled a lifetime of experiences, enthusiasms, and obsessions into these new songs.

More than love, romance, or self-reliance, this is the animating ideal of K Bay - that we can forever strive for something better, no matter how flawed or blessed we have already been. A decade ago, Matthew E. White made a classic beauty no one expected; on K Bay, he has made a masterpiece by harnessing what he's learned from that community and life itself in entirely unexpected, electrifying, and reaffirming ways.