One of my favorite music festival discoveries of last spring — in which I attended 11 festivals in 11 weeks — was German electro-pop producer Roosevelt.
I had fallen in love with his music months before embarking on my trip and seeing him at Governors Ball 2017. I had no clue what to expect from the live show. Was it just him behind a laptop pressing buttons?
I was very enthusiastic to discover he had a full band setup. Dressed in all white, Roosevelt and his band blasted through some Duran Duran meets St. Lucia sounding tunes — bringing to life the expansive soundscapes he had crafted on his self-titled debut full-length record in 2016. It was easily one of the best early-day sets I saw at a festival all year.
Roosevelt has finally shared details on the follow-up to Roosevelt. Titled “Under the Sun”, the song features more of the upbeat synthpop vibes that I’ve come to expect from him. His knack for writing catchy pop hooks is undeniable. Listen to it here:
The new album is called Young Romance and was completed in six months using some vintage synthesizers in a newly-built studio in his Cologne hometown, traveling here to Los Angeles to record with producer Chris Coady, per Stereogum. Coady has produced for the likes of Beach House, The Orwells, and Future Islands.
It’s immediately skyrocketed to the top of my list of most anticipated albums yet to come out this year. Give the new song a listen (and dive back into his old album) and add it to your list too.
Young Romance drops September 28 via City Slang/Greco Roman. You can pre-order the record here and begin crossing your fingers like me that a tour including LA dates is imminent.
Photo of Roosevelt courtesy of Governors Ball
