Former Klaxons musician James Righton has today (April 6) unveiled details of a new album, ‘Jim, I’m Still Here’.
The 12-track album has been made in collaboration with Soulwax’s David and Stephen Dewaele and includes a guest feature from ABBA’s Benny Andersson. It will arrive on July 8 via Soulwax’s Abel DEEWEE.
The synth-laden album sees Righton taking on a new alter-ego called Jim and you can hear a taster of the upcoming album via new single ‘Pause’ below.
1. ‘Livestream Superstar’
2. ‘Pause’
3. ‘Touch’
4. ‘Release Party’
5. ‘Real World Park’
6. ‘Never Give Up On The City’
7. ‘A Day At The Races’
8. ‘I Want To Live’
9. ‘Lover Boy’
10. ‘Empty Rooms’ ft. Benny Andersson
11. ‘Playing To Win’
12. ‘Farewell Superstar’
Speaking about the new album, Righton said: “The alter ego of Jim came to me whilst promoting my previous album ‘The Performer’ during the first week of lockdown. Life shut down and became centered around family and domestic life. At the same time…I was asked more and more to live stream concerts through various social media platforms. So. I’d put the kids to sleep, head downstairs to my garage studio, put on my Gucci suit and became someone else. The juxtaposition of these 2 lives felt extreme but also interesting to me. I created Jim. Jim would be the deluded rockstar, living out his fantasies from the confines of his garage. James was Dad.
“At the same time as creating Jim I also spent more time than ever thinking. Just thinking. I thought about the people I love, the people I miss, the places I wanted to go to, the things I wanted to do. I was looking forward and back. Time allowed thoughts in. Thoughts became words and the words became songs. I wrote about my wife, my children, friends who I miss and a friend who sadly passed away from Covid during the first month of the pandemic. As a result this album is more personal, raw and unlike any other I’ve made. I let the words dictate.
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“To be clear Jim and James are both me. Jim is an exaggerated semi fictional version of me. James changes nappies, makes dinner and reads bedtime stories to his kids. Jim craves external validation, likes, followers and adds to playlists. But in truth you can never fully detach Jim from James. The balance and constantly shifting nature of this duality I find endlessly fascinating.”
Righton also unveiled details today of a new tour, with tickets for the gigs going on sale on April 11 at 10am here.
Fans who pre-order the album from the DEEWEE store here before Friday 8 April (6pm BST) can access pre-sale dates.
AUGUST
26 – Thorington Theatre, Saxmundham
SEPTEMBER
14 – Moth Club, London
15 – Headrow House, Leeds
16 – Broadcast, Glasgow
21 – Le Hasard Ludique, Paris
22 – Pilar, Brussels
23 – Helios, Cologne
24 – Prachtwerk, Berlin
25 – Melkweg, Amsterdam