Mexican darkwave/new wave/post punk band Rey Pila have announced the release of their fourth studio album, ESTAN STRANGE I.
To mark the announcement the band have also shared their new single ‘One of Us’. The 13-track record will be out on November 28th via Arts & Crafts México. Get it here.
Formed in 2010, the band – comprised of Diego Solórzano, Andrés Velasco, and Rodrigo Blanco – has honed a distinctive blend of dark synth-pop and dance rock, drawing influence from iconic acts such as The Cars, Depeche Mode, Aphex Twin, and Boards of Canada.
Rey Pila has always been about evolution. Their self-titled debut in 2010 began as Solórzano’s solo project. By 2012, they were recording with producer Chris Coady in New York’s DFA studio. After discovering their song ‘Alexander,’ Julian Casablancas signed them to Cult Records, releasing their album ‘The Future Sugar‘ (2015) and the Casablancas/Shawn Everett-produced ‘Wall of Goth‘ EP (2017). Their 2020 album ‘Velox Veritas’, produced by Dave Sitek, expanded their sound to include trap, dancehall, and electro influences.
About One of Us:
The new album captures the band’s consistent influences, like Boards Of Canada and The Cars, but adds new elements into the mix. Rey Pila’s mixing pot of inspiration includes Salem and the witch house genre, as well as the French electronic music scene, the Prodigy, the Chemical Brothers, techno, old school UK rave music, and more. In addition to music, Solórzano found books including J.G Ballard’s Concrete Island, Ian Kershaw’s The End and Thomas Mann’s Doctor Faustus fuelled ideas, too.
The songs highlight Solórzano’s songwriting approach of taking concepts from the current zeitgeist and using them to form “analogies and dark human commentaries to create a unique message”. “I’m obsessed with how we view and crave fame as a society,” he shares as one example. “I find it very interesting – same with money, violence and social media. In a way, I like to think I write from an anthropologic point of view. I have fun relating to life in that way.”ne welcomed the free time to do other stuff and now the band feels super engaging again.”
Of the new single, they say:
“I was immediately drawn to the song since its inception. The initial groove always made me want to dance, and I loved how it made perfect way for some of my favourite guitar riffs from the new album. I think “One Of Us” perfectly captures the band’s main features, part electronic/dance and part rock n roll, a bit dark but with a pop edge… And it’s just in time for the Halloween/Día de Muertos celebrations, Diego’s lyrics chanting “become one of us” always made me think of a strange cult trying to recruit you in a horror movie…”
Take a listen below, followed by the album’s tracklisting.
Rey Pila “ESTAN STRANGE I” Tracklisting:
- Fidelo
- Ani Oni
- Drop Out
- One of Us
- Fantasma
- Ojos De Terror
- Dreaming of Dreaming
- Friend Request
- Running Blood
- Online Soul
- No Me Arrastres
- Fantasma II
- (music fades)
