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Cut Copy share sixth studio album ‘Freeze, Melt’

• 26th Aug 2020

GRAMMY-nominated, ARIA award-winning Australian electronic act Cut Copy, share their highly anticipated sixth studio album, Freeze, Melt, today via Cutters Records & The Orchard. The four-piece, Melbourne-natives take an inward emotional turn from their prolific catalogue with the record, refocusing on the electronic pastures that have lurked in their periphery while re-imagining their body-moving signature.

If Cut Copy’s previous album Haiku From Zero represents their most refined and emotive project to date, then Freeze, Melt further builds on this by way of their 2016 January Tape, embodying an extended electronic mediation. Stepping into headier realms whilst lyrically exploring love in solitude, the genesis of Freeze, Melt was born from the sub-zero winter in Denmark of 2018 where Dan Whitford was based. Inspired by a monochromatic palette, a timeless feel and painterly abstraction during time abroad, the band regrouped at Melbourne’s Park Orchard Studios to record the LP ensconced once again by forest and native birds. They completed the loop and inscribed Scandinavia into the album’s DNA by returning it to Gothenburg’s Christoffer Berg (The Knife) to be mixed. 

The LP begins with “Cold Water” and a danceability only Cut Copy can replicate, as frontman Dan Whitford’s voice lifts and carries on top of stoic chiming machine melodies that lap and flow, echoing, “All I need is you.” Summoning the quintessential Cut Copy sound, their latest release “Like Breaking Glass” ups the mood with high-end sonics, warm synth-work and dance-tingling beats, before 2020 returning single “Love Is All We Share” breathes the universal truth through ambient textures, yearning to connect in solitude. 

“Stop, Horizon” next paints a winter in Denmark with sprinkles of acoustic sequences akin to snowflakes falling in a sensory-rich soundscape, subtly transitioning from surrealism to low-fi funk via psychedelic-tinged vocals. Uplifting from start to finish, latest single “Running In The Grass” is spearheaded by Whitford’s words in hand with a programmatic instrumental and punchy beat. Alongside the single is another stunning visual from the band’s ongoing collaboration with acclaimed artist Takeshi Murata, bringing the track’s sonic identity into the visual realm, before the album moves into “A Perfect Day” where house-esque kick propels forward while the synth pulsates beneath, culminating in a groove-heavy breakdown. Following, “Rain” conjures a rising instrumental with atmospheric sounds, each with their own narrative, building anticipation throughout the track releasing it with Whitford’s thunderous vocals and emotive strings lines. Closing out the album is “In Transit,” a solemn outro, where bleeding synth lines transmute from plodding melodies, and merge with naturalistic acoustic strings. 

Speaking on the album, Dan Whitford says: “It’s the most electronic album we’ve made, but also the least ‘dance’. In the past when we were in the studio we were striving to move people on the dancefloor, but in this case,it was all about trying to move people in more of an emotional way.” 

On the release today, he says:
“It’s always a special moment when we finally get to share our music with you guys. Making this album has been a slow evolution, from starting to write songs in Copenhagen to collaborating long-distance with bandmates in New York and San Francisco, to finally recording all together in a beautiful forest studio in Park Orchards near Melbourne, to mixing the songs in Sweden and finally getting the mastered album back. It’s been a real journey, and now we finally get to share Freeze, Melt with you!

Freeze, Melt is our 6th studio album (which in itself is kind of hard to believe!?) and we felt like we wanted to explore taking a slightly different direction this time; Taking our sound into a new place and focusing less on traditional songs and more into creating different atmospheres and moods. It’s the kind of music that people can dive into, disappear for a while, and emerge 40 minutes later. Some of you might be familiar with our January Tape release from a few years back where Tim and I spent a week making instrumental soundscapes and long jams and released it on limited edition cassette. I think this album feels like a logical progression from that release, except with the whole band working on this one (and spending longer than a week obviously!)

When I started writing songs for Freeze, Melt, I had just moved to Copenhagen and was finding my feet in a place where I didn’t really know anyone or speak the language. I think the songs were part of a process of working through that feeling of isolation and unfamiliarity. It was really a personal thing at the time, but strangely now the whole world has been experiencing isolation and disconnection for very different reasons. Hopefully, this music means something to personal to you guys as much as it meant something personal to me in writing it. It’s been a labour of love for a good year and a half now, so we really hope you enjoy listening to it!”

Recently, Cut Copy announced their first shows in support of Freeze, Melt to come in 2021. Travelling to Porto, Lisbon, Amsterdam, London and Dublin, European fans can now be among the first Cut Copy fans worldwide to catch the beloved act on stage in March/April 2021. Pre-sale is now open, with GA on sale now.

After returning to Australia and being joined by his bandmates at Melbourne’s Park Orchard Studios to enhance and complete the recording, the record’s sense of place was further enhanced by the mixing contribution of Swedish legend Christoffer Berg (Robyn, The Knife), finishing the record in Svenska Grammofonstudion in Gothenburg.

The Neve console they used was also used by Bowie/Eno/Visconti to make Lodger and was also used by Queen, The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, AC/DC, Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin, Led Zeppelin, Stevie Wonder and Jonny Cash. The result of finalizing the record at Svenska Studios is a treat for the mind as well as the body.

Freeze, Melt is Cut Copy’s first full-length release since their 2017 highly acclaimed Haiku From Zero. Born from a bedroom recording project by Dan Whitford, and expanding to a full-fledged band with guitarist Tim Hoey, drummer Mitchell Scott, and bass player Ben Browning, Cut Copy’s discography has endured the test of time with a knack for simultaneously expanding their sound while refining it. Their renowned live show has graced sold-out headline stages across five continents, major U.S TV shows Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel Live, and primetime slots at prestigious festivals Coachella, Ultra, Lollapalooza, Primavera, Pitchfork, Summer Sonic and Big Day Out.

Their unique sound and unencumbered tastes have earned the band praise both at home and abroad, picking up multiple nominations across a nineteen-year career. 2011’s ARIA chart-topper Zonoscope was nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards, and awarded Best Dance Release at the ARIA Awards. 2008’s In Ghost Colours, featuring “Lights & Music” and “Hearts on Fire” received nominations for the ARIA Awards’ Best Dance/Electronic Album and Album of the Year at the J Awards. The four-piece act have also seen their songs licensed for use in television, games and commercial, including FIFA 18, Chevrolet, Netflix, Amazon and Levi’s #LiveinLevis campaign.

Freeze, Melt arrives today as the sixth LP from the esteemed act, presenting a full-bodied experience into new sound arenas while maintaining foundations of the prolific legacy that has influenced a generation. With an enduring name spanning from the golden era of electronic music to their reemergence today, tune in to new inspirations and evocations from the country’s most beloved music exports on Freeze, Melt now.