Mykki Blanco has announced a new album, Stay Close To Music, due October 14 via Transgressive (pre-order). The album was produced by FaltyDL and came out of the same sessions that led to 2021's Broken Dreams & Beauty Sleep. It features recent singles "Family Ties" with R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe and "Your Love With A Gift" with Diana Gordon, as well as songs featuring ANOHNI, Jónsi of Sigur Ros, Devendra Banhart, Kelsey Lu, Saul Williams, Ah-Mer-Ah-Su, MNEK, and Slug Christ. Along with the announcement comes the single version of "French Lessons" featuring Kelsey Lu (ANOHNI is also on the album version). Mykki says:

The song is a reflection on the possibility of true love, on the notion that one truly can experience what we see in the Hollywood films. The song is also this ode in a way to Lou Reed. I'm not what I would consider a singer at all, I'm a talk-singer so I look to people in history who have that same style: Tom Petty, Jonathan Richmond of the Modern Lovers, Lou Reed – these are all AMAZING ‘talk singers’ and I feel comfortable in that style vocally. The song was originally composed by FaltyDL andit encapsulated so much sonically of what I was trying to articulate with my own music. FaltyDL has a way of touching on the spiritual subtleties of life. He is able somehow to create mystery out of banality, to create tranquility and fill a room with zen like vibrations, something unnameable and yet so familiar a feeling.

About working with Kelsey Lu, Mykki adds:

Kelsey Lu I'm sure will go on to become one of the legendary artists of my generation. A classically trained virtuoso with a voice that sounds ancient like a bell ringing for the first time, like something out of a Greek odyssey. I have been a long time super fan of Kelsey’s and collaborating with her on this song has been a very special moment for myself and FaltyDL.

And about the Felix Kalmenson-directed video:

The video concept was a reflection on the ongoing struggles for queer liberation in Georgia which is felt more than ever against the backdrop of violent reactionary protests to the queer movement in June/July of this year and many years prior. The video drew on the legacy of the bisexual Georgian/Armenian film director Sergei Parajanov and his contributions to the aesthetic landscape of Georgian contemporary culture. Together we constructed a timeless odyssey of two lovers seeking emancipation and acceptance in a world mired by conflict and violence.

Check out the new song and video below.

Mykki also has tour dates coming up, including Queens festival The Big Climate Thing at Forest Hills Stadium on September 17. All dates are listed below.

Tracklist
01 – Pink Diamond Bezel
02 – Steps (feat. Saul Williams and MNEK)
03 – French Lessons (feat. ANOHNI and Kelsey Lu)
04 – Ketamine (feat. Slug Christ)
05 – Your Love Was A Gift (feat. Diana Gordon)
06 – Family Ties (feat. Michael Stipe)
07 – Your Feminism Is Not My Feminism (feat. Ah-Mer-Ah-Su)
08 – Lucky
09 – Interlude
10 – Trust A Little Bit
11 – You Will Find It (feat. Devendra Banhart)
12 – Carry On (feat. Jónsi)
13 – French Lessons [Single Version] (feat. Kelsey Lu)

Mykki Blanco — 2022 Tour Dates
Jul 19: Boomtown – Ghent, BE
Aug 13: Fuchsbau Festival – Hannover, DE
Aug 19: The Roofs Festival @ Olympiapark – Munich, DE
Aug 20: Opera Festival, Milo, Sicily, IT
Aug 26: Capital Pride Festival – Ontario, CA
Sept 17: The Big Climate Thing Festival at Forest Hills – New York, NY
Oct 25: Petit Bain – Paris, FR
Oct 26: Atelier 210 – Brussels, BE
Oct 27: Bitterzoet – Amsterdam, NL
Oct 29: Kampnage – Hamburg, DEl
Nov 1: Loppen – Copenhagen, DK
Nov 2: Gretchen – Berlin, DE
Nov 6: Meet Factory – Prague
Nov 7: Heidelberg Karlstobahnhof
Nov 8: Rote Fabrik – Zurich
Nov 9: Queersicht Festival at Bee-Flat – Bern
Nov 12: Mousonturm – Frankfurt
Nov 14: CBE – Cologne, DE
Nov 21: La Nau – Barcelona, ES
Nov 22: La Casa Encendida – Madrid, ES
Nov 23: Music Box – Lisbon, PT
Nov 29: Heaven – London, UK
Dec 02: Trinity – Bristol, UK
Dec 03: Mother @ Lost Lane – Dublin, Ireland
Dec 04: G2 – Glasgow, Scotland
Dec 05: The Cluny – Newcastle, UK
Dec 06: YES – Manchester, UK