Dutch Uncles announce launch event for new album

Dutch Uncles collaborate with Metronomy’s Anna Prior on new single “In Salvia” and announce details of unique launch event for new album True Entertainment

– New album True Entertainment is out 10th March on Memphis Industries
– April headline tour with stops in Leeds, Manchester, London + more

(28th February) Dutch Uncles have shared new single “In Salvia“, the final taste of the band’s long-awaited sixth album, True Entertainment, out on 10th March via Memphis Industries.

Showcasing a new sonic palette for the band, new single “In Salvia” blurs the lines between synthesised and acoustic instrumentation, all laser focused around a jaunty “ode-to-Outkast” 808 beat. Accompanied by an all star cast of musical apparatus; Triton horns, bouncing arpeggiators, synth flutes and EBows, the band once more enlisted the help of Metronomy‘s Anna Prior, further elevating the track with some ethereal ad libs and ASMR additions.

The band have also revealed details of a special launch event for new album True Entertainment. On 11th March, West Didsbury & Chorlton play Ascot Utd in the FA Vase. Dutch Uncles will be taking out an advert in the matchday programme, playing album tracks out on the stadium’s tannoy and running a pop up merch stand with discounted tour tickets, vinyl, t-shirts etc. The band have also teamed up with The Beagle in Chorlton, and will continue the album celebrations later that day with the addition of an exclusive new pizza to The Beagle’s menu for one night only, the True Entertainment Pizza – a normal pizza, but with chips on top, in reference to their popular Podcast ‘Chips Of Chorlton’. The band will also be DJ’ing at the venue.

Dutch Uncles are masters of the unique album launch. For 2017’s Big Balloon the band invited fans to join them go-karting beneath the Manchester Arena and for 2013’s Out Of Touch In The Wild they worked with chefs at Manchester burger restaurant Almost Famous to develop a burger in honour of the record.

Speaking on her contributions to the new album, Anna Prior said:

“I love Dutch Uncles. I’ve been tooting their horn to anyone who will listen. Naturally, I responded with a resounding  “I DO” when they asked me (on Valentines day 2022) if I would consider lending my voice to some of their new music. Fast forward a few months whilst on tour with Metronomy and holed up in a hotel room in a part of Europe I was newly visiting, I set up a make-shift vocal booth (with equipment borrowed from my band mate Gbenga) and started adding my own touch to what has turned out to be one of my most adored Dutch Uncles LPs yet. ‘In Salvia’, is one of my favourites on the new record – a perfect slice of melancholy pie.”

Vocalist/lyricist Duncan Wallis went on to discuss the lyrical inspiration behind new single “In Salvia”:

“A reference to the flower of the same name’s symbolism of wisdom, longevity, good health and innocence,  is a rather stark narrative detailing when the qualities listed above have nothing to contribute to the realities in front of you. Partly inspired by a not insignificant number of years propping up bars and asking the wrong questions, its only seeming redemption being an acknowledgement of what the end actually looks like.”

MORE ABOUT DUTCH UNCLES AND TRUE ENTERTAINMENT

Taking inspiration from Yellow Magic Orchestra, Prince, Steely Dan, Ennio Morricone, The Blue Nile, Kate Bush and Roxy Music, new album True Entertainment is the long-awaited follow up to Big Balloon (2017) and features guest vocal contributions from Everything Everything‘s Jonathan Higgs on “Damascenes” and Metronomy‘s Anna Prior on “Tropigala (2 to 5)” and “In Salvia”.

Sharing insight into the new album, Wallis commented: “True Entertainment is a soundtrack for the pursuit of anonymity within ever-changing societal norms, and the trappings that come with it. Those trappings are presented in a series of life-changing scenarios and epiphanies that include: abandoning one’s identity and accepting one’s generation as a useless vessel; to suffering for betterment and dealing with challenges from other generations.”

The album’s title was a DJ name bestowed upon Wallis by guitarist Peter Broadhead. Wallis, an in-demand DJ and compare in his native city, wrote the acid house and Sign O’ The Times-era Prince-influenced title track when reflecting on the awkwardness he sometimes feels when he’s recognised as the singer in a band while working one of his many public-facing jobs.

From the absurdist 80s/90s-tinged “Deep End” and the funk-laced Talking Heads-nodding “Poppin’“, to the band’s own ‘musical imagination of an Ennio Morricone progressive punk (pronk) space opera’ – “I’m Not Your Dad“, after 6 six years away, Dutch Uncles have returned with their most complete and most collaborative full length to date.

While bassist Robin Richards remains Dutch Uncles’ principle composer, the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 prompted other members to contribute musical ideas.

“We embraced our inherent silliness during the recording process,” Richards added. “If a sound made us laugh or smile it usually stayed on the track. The collaborative approach to True Entertainment allowed us to experiment with sounds, textures and harmony that we haven’t used before.”

This enhanced level of collaboration is evidenced further by producer / engineer Henry Broadhead (Everything Everything, Jane Weaver, Billy Ocean) and Neil Wright (live guitarist) stepping up to production duties alongside the band themselves. Andrew Proudfoot mixed the album (with additional mixing by Henry) and it was mastered by Matt Colton (Pet Shop Boys, Christine And The Queens et al).

Dutch Uncles most recent full length album Big Balloon spawned three playlisted singles on BBC Radio 6 Music and enjoyed widespread acclaim from the likes of Uncut (“a high flying triumph” 8/10), The Guardian (“its songs barge in with urgency” 4*), The Quietus, DIY, Exclaim!, Q, Under the Radar and many, many more.

Dutch Uncles are: Andrew Proudfoot (the drums), Duncan Wallis (vocals and piano), Robin Richards (bass) and Peter Broadhead (guitar, synth and electronics). They are joined live by Henry Broadhead (synth and percussion) and Neil Wright (guitar).

Dutch Uncles‘ new album True Entertainment is out 10th March via Memphis Industries. New single “In Salvia” is out now. Dutch Uncles tour the UK in March/April 2023.