Grammy-winning live electronic trio RÜFÜS DU SOL released their highly-anticipated fifth studio album Inhale / Exhale, out now via Rose Avenue/Reprise Records.
Inhale / Exhale charts new territory for a group who has embarked on one of the most transformative decades of any act in their lane. Written in the throes of big personal changes and an overhauled creative workflow, Inhale / Exhale opens a more mature, sonically diverse and poetically vulnerable chapter of the RÜFÜS‘ saga.
The result is a heart-on-sleeve project that sees the band continue to represent a seismic shift in what electronic music can mean to fans, in terms of meaning, emotive power and popularity; songwriters who came of age on the dancefloor and fill stadiums not just clubs.
The album harnesses the universal themes of love and belongingness that have made RÜFÜS the soundtrack of a new generation, but does so with a newfound position of strength not yet heard from the band. The band’s singer Tyrone Lindqvist navigates love from a solid ground, calling out on ‘The Life‘:
No matter where the road takes me
There’s nothing in this world
That could break me
Your love is like propane
So go on light the flame for me
It is this sense of growth and maturity that makes this record so compelling and ripe for connection. RÜFÜS offer a window into their own lives in every song, inviting fans to join them as they evolve as individuals and musicians, a mutual journey of introspection on the dancefloor while enjoying the process.
The production of Inhale / Exhale also signals a new era for the band, combining their continual quest to bind the worlds of organic and electronic with a renewed pool of references from across the dance music landscape.
From the ethereal breakbeats of ‘Fire/Desire‘ and ‘The Life‘, to the hard hitting mid-00’s electro inspired bassline of ‘Pressure‘, onwards to emotive club ballad ‘Edge of the Earth‘, it remains clear that this is a group as inspired by the club tracks of their youth, as they are capable of melding eras and styles to create truly timeless music.
Inhale / Exhale‘s tender balance of sophisticated sound design and emotive songwriting garnered early support from Billboard, Rolling Stone, Zane Lowe, and earned the band their first #1 at Dance Radio with the album’s lead single “Music Is Better“. The record was followed by a palette of impactful singles representative of the album’s range “LATELY,” “Break My Love,” & “Pressure“.
The core of RÜFÜS DU SOL remains the impenetrable connection felt between the band and their fanbase in the live space. Each new show reimagines how far this bond can be pushed, with the immersive stage production of their live performances acting as the fourth member of the band.
Their recent headline live set at San Francisco’s Portola Festival and intimate performance on the Sydney Harbour offered a first glimpse of their soon to be announced album tour, while recent DJ sets at Coachella‘s Quasar stage and Burning Man tuned fans into the curation and unexpected references that retain their connection to clubland.
RÜFÜS DU SOL will bring Inhale / Exhale to stages around the world next year, including stops at all three South American editions of Lollapalooza as the only electronic headliner, with the band’s biggest Global Tour to be announced soon.
Stream RÜFÜS DU SOL‘s breathtaking new album Inhale / Exhale available now on all platforms.
“This record is very special to us. We’re incredibly proud of it and of what it represents for us as a group. We wrote a lot of music together for this project, and decided early on that we were trying to create something more expansive than we have previously shared.
It’s crazy to think we’ve been collaborating on this project together for almost fifteen years, to know that we’re five albums deep now and we’re as excited about making music together now as when we started. Shout out to all the fans who support us, this collaboration wouldn’t be possible without you.” – RÜFÜS DU SOL
Listen to the tracks below.
