The Streets announce new album and feature film ‘The Darker The Shadow, The Brighter The Light’
The Streets have announced plans to release their new album The Darker The Shadow, The Brighter The Light which coincides with a feature film of the same name, directed by Mike Skinner.
The LP is set for release on October 20th and marks The Streets’ first full-length album since 2011’s Computer and Blues. Additionally, to tease the record, the Birmingham native has shared lead single ‘Troubled Waters’ which arrives alongside visuals which provide the first vignette into The Darker The Shadow, The Brighter The Light.
Speaking about the project, which was first publicly announced in 2018, Skinner said: “It has been seven long years working on this film and album. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and after dipping my toe in with some shorts and music videos, I felt I was ready. I tried to go the traditional route for a bit, but it’s always served me better to follow my instincts and just get on with it myself, so I’ve directed it, acted in it, edited, sound mixed, funded, produced it all as well as written it.”
He continued: “The album doesn’t exist without it. Ultimately it’s all the fruits of a decade on the DJ circuit, watching people in clubs and back rooms, testing out beats and basslines to see what connected – and putting it all together into The Darker The Shadow The Brighter The Light”.
In 2021, Skinner surprise-released an album named The Streets under the alias of The Darker The Shadow The Brighter The Light, and has been sharing music under the pseudonym since 2017.
Discussing the film and LP with the BBC in 2020, Skinner explained: “The album is like two years old now. I spent a few months with a script editor which was great and then at the end of the year I decided to kind of do it myself really, and we’ve since got different funding through the music industry, rather than the film industry.”
The Streets maestro added: “The film has definitely got things in common with Quadrophenia. Also, in a weird way, kind of Tommy [the same band’s rock opera] as well, because in my film it’s a musical but the songs are the voiceover. Tommy has got a bit of that, although it’s not surreal like Tommy.”
Additionally, The Streets have announced details of an autumn tour of the United Kingdom which concludes with a performance at London’s Alexandra Palace on November 16th.
Watch the video for ‘Troubled Waters’ below.
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