HIGH LLAMAS "Hey Panda" CD

PCD-25404
Format: CD
List price: 2500 Yen + tax

The High Llamas, the utopia pop band led by the genius Sean O'Hagan, is back! Their long-awaited new album, their first in eight years! Inspired by current R&B and hip-hop, this is the most controversial work in the High Llamas' 30+ year history!

High Llamas present Hey Panda, a modern pop music/deep listening experience that could only come from their personal universe. Eight years after the release of their previous pop musical Here Come the Rattling Trees, High Llamas reinvent themselves again with Hey Panda, mixing their unique harmonic voice with today's sound production that Sean considers "exceptionally good." Choosing not to look back to the golden days of the critically acclaimed early High Llamas, Sean instead found himself opening up to the sounds of music his adult children brought into the house, and sounds he encountered at recent sessions he arranged. In addition to producing The Coral's Sea Of Mirrors album, he also drew major inspiration from his work with The Flyers, Ray Morris, King Krule and Pearl & The Oysters, while also dipping his toes in the works of Tierra Whack and Chicago's Pivot Gang, and was cheered on from afar by longtime devotee Tyler, the Creator. Hey Panda's wide reach is aided by two co-written tracks with Bonnie "Prince" Billy (who bonded with Shawn during the writing sessions over a shared love of gospel soul), guest vocals from Ray Morris and Shawn's daughter Livi, production twists by The Flyers, and the stalwart yet flexible presence of the High Llamas. Sharing the impulses of the late Miles Davis and Quincy Jones, with further inspiration from Steve Lacy, SZA, Sault, No Name, Ezra Collective and more, Sean and the Hi Llamas are new and living life to the fullest with Hey Panda!

■Track list