ALTOPALO SHARE NEW SINGLE ‘NOCTURNE’ FARAWAYFROMEVERYONEYOUKNOW LP OUT APRIL 24

Today, envelope-pushing, enigmatic New York four-piece altopalo share their latest single, ‘nocturne’. Following on from the previously released ‘honey’ and ‘am i am’, ‘nocturne’ is the third track to be taken from their forthcoming second LP, farawayfromeveryoneyouknow, out April 24th via Samedi Records. Listen HERE.

Described by the band as “an inconclusive attempt at making insomnia danceable,” ‘nocturne’ captures that liminal space where “you twist and turn in bed, filled with childish worry. The mind envisioning shadow ghouls and manticores is the only thing between you and that sweet, sweet closure of a day well-lived.” 

Appropriately, ‘nocturne’ feels this battle within itself, embodying the conflict between tortured wakefulness and rest with hypnotic, lullaby plucking guitars and twinkling synths neutralized by processed melodies that twist and contort into undefinable shapes and lead singer Rahm Silverglade’s cooing vocals that sit somewhere between soothing and anxious: “Too hot, too stressed out / Oh, it’s been so long / Think I’m depressed now.”

Veterans of the New York underground scene, the four members of Altopalo disintegrate the boundaries of genre, folding in elements of electronica, ambient, and jazz through their deconstructionist approach to indie rock reminiscent of artists such as Bon Iver, Moses Sumney, and King Krule.

Described by the foursome as “ruminations on a transitional period”, their second full-length reveals a more human side to Altopalo than was on show throughout their introspective debut, representing something of a rebirth. Beneath their alien musical transmissions, they deal with thoroughly modern themes of anxiety, embracing your fears and the rejection of self-care as a lifestyle brand.

On the band’s 2018 debut LP, frozenthere, which garnered praise from Pitchfork, Fader, Billboard, Consequence of Sound and more, they decontextualised their instruments into atmospherics and walls of sound. Their recording process, made up of long improvisations, recorded in full before being whittled down into loops, progressions and fragments, is best thought of as Altopalo creating, pulling apart and then trying to piece a jigsaw puzzle back together again. Now, on farawayfromeveryoneyouknow, they hone and expand that sound, opening up new avenues for their music through their dizzying experimentalism.

‘nocturne’ by Altopalo is out now,
buy/stream it here.