The Streets - Troubled Waters (Official Video)

Photo credit: Ben Cannon

Mike Skinner announces the first full length The Streets album since “Computers and Blues” in 2011. Accompanied by Skinner’s debut Feature Film of the same name, “The Darker The Shadow, The Brighter The Light” album is released on 679 Recordings/Warner Music UK Ltd on October 20th. To accompany the announcement, The Streets share a first taster from the record, “Troubled Waters”, and in support of the album Skinner will also embark on a headline UK tour beginning on the 26th of October,  culminating at London’s historic Alexandra Palace on the 16th of November. Pre-order the album.

"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. 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” - The Streets.

“The Darker The Shadow, The Brighter The Light” album is a classic Streets album - filled with Skinner’s trademark lyrical wizardry and beats honed over a decade of building his other career as a legitimate bass/rap DJ in clubs - all songs written by Skinner but featuring vocal contributions from longtime collaborators Kevin Mark Trail and Robert Harvey, as well as a track featuring Teef. The songs on the album soundtrack the film and also play the role of narrator of the film at times - and whilst neither the album or film exist without each other - both can be enjoyed separately.

Euphoria-inducing synthesiser stabs cascade through the first taster from the record, “Troubled Waters”, underpinned by Skinner’s trademark lyrical flair. A minimalistic half-step beat provides the backdrop to the gritty realism of Skinner’s storytelling, which fervently advances with a rapid changing of pace. Stripped back drum and bass rattles with the track as the arrangement unfolds into its latter stages.