Ascending to yet another creative peak, critically acclaimed artist, producer, and songwriter Elephante unveils his hotly anticipated new album, Heavy Glow, with 88Rising, which marks his official debut for 88Rising [Joji, NIKI, Rich Brian].
Listen to HEAVY GLOW HERE.
To accompany the record’s arrival, he also shares the focus single “Down This Road.” In the upcoming video, he shows the multi-faceted artist, entertainer, and performer that he is, taking on the roles and personalities of the singer, drummer, guitarist, and keys to take viewers “Down This Road” of his personal musical evolution and mastery. On the track, glossy guitar wraps around his evocative vocals before a wistful hook takes hold, “If we go down this road in this old Hatchback we can’t turn back anymore, ’cause I wanna know.” The guitar breaks into a danceable drop, illuminating his seamless genre alchemy. Simultaneously, the accompanying visual brings all of these vibes to life in cinematic fashion.
Regarding the album, Elephante commented, “Heavy Glow is about identity. It’s about coming to terms with who you are compared to who everyone else sees you as or expects you to be. “Heavy Glow” became a metaphor for the part of you that shines through in the nighttime, and can be hard for other people to really see. It can feel like a huge weight on your shoulders, but ultimately defines who you are.”
Elephante initially set the stage for the album with a series of fan favorite singles. Most recently, “Dopamine” quickly amassed hundreds of thousands of streams. After perfecting the song for two years and previewing it in various iterations, it not only met, but exceeded audience expectations. Right out of the gate, The Honey Pop praised, “Returning to his energetic House roots, Elephante layers synths and floating vocals to create the pulsating track,“ and added, “we at THP can’t get enough of this song!” Meanwhile, Dancing Astronaut wrote, “Featuring anthemic vocals and reverberating instrumentation, “Dopamine” takes listeners into an upbeat production that unravels into a dazzling drop, driven by intensity and a kaleidoscope of arpeggiators.“ The Nocturnal Times hailed, “‘Dopamine’ is a riveting new track, boasting his energetic house roots to a tee.” EDM.com featured it on “Playlist Picks.”
Highlighted by standouts such as “Holy Ghosts” and “High Water”, Heavy Glow traces his emotional journey through quarantine. Whether it be the shimmering catharsis of “Departed,“ the restless echoes of “Tired Of Being Tired,” or the luminously upbeat melodic finale “Light On,“ it reflects his personal ebb and flow through waves of sonic experimentation.
“It starts off with an optimism and defiant energy – we’re just taking a quick “Break” from our old lives, and we’ll be back and at it in no time,” he explains. “As reality sinks in that things are actually much worse than we feared, we go into the second act, where the sense of oppressive bleakness settles in. I was close to losing hope that we’d ever claw our way back. And then the third act – when we learned to cope with our struggles, and even gained strength from them. We accept that times are still tough and we’ll never quite be the same, but we can carry a little light of hope with us, optimistic that we can get through this.”
Ultimately, Elephante has crafted the perfect soundtrack to “get through this” with HEAVY GLOW.
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ABOUT ELEPHANTE
A wildly innovative producer, artist, and songwriter fusing melodic electronic dance music with pop, blues, rock, and other genres, Elephante (American musical artist Tim Wu) is living what many people might call “The American Dream”. As the son of Taiwanese immigrants, his Asian-American upbringing in Michigan was unique and sometimes isolating. He graduated from Harvard University and entered corporate America at a top global consultant firm….and HATED it, so he addressed his unhappiness — “the elephant in the room” — and pursued his passion in music. To date, he’s garnered hundreds of millions of streams across his two indie EPs: I Am The Elephante (2016), a nine-track exploration of progressive house, synthpop and trap; and Glass Mansion (2018), which shot to #1 on iTunes’ U.S. Dance chart. His upcoming project, Heavy Glow, represents his first full-length studio album, a largely solo effort further pushing the boundaries of dance music, featuring the debut single, “High Water.” Elephante has headlined two sold-out national tours, played nightlife residencies including those at Hard Rock and Wynn Las Vegas, and appeared at major music festivals such as Lollapalooza, EDC Las Vegas, and Electric Zoo.
