Featuring new original single “Perfect Kiss,” cover of Bonnie “Prince” Billy’s “I See A Darkness,” & remixes by Claire Rousay and Black Forces

Out digitally & on limited edition 12” vinyl June 12th

Photo credit: Joshua Wildman

Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip and producer Mike Simonetti—founder of Troubleman Unlimited and Italians Do It Better, and one-half of Pale Blue—have joined forces for a new collaborative EP on Smugglers Way. The release pairs a transcendent cover of Bonnie “Prince” Billy’s “I See A Darkness” with the luminous original “Perfect Kiss,” plus remixes by Claire Rousay and Black Forces. The EP will be out digitally and on limited edition 12” vinyl on June 12th.

Taylor and Simonetti share “Perfect Kiss,” which finds the duo at a striking intersection of styles–melding Simonetti’s rock-informed sensibility with Taylor’s signature electronic pop craftsmanship. The result is both intimate and expansive, anchored by Taylor’s unmistakable vocal. 

Lyrically, “Perfect Kiss” explores themes of identity, alienation, and transformation. “It’s about being alienated and an outsider in society while wanting to be accepted for the true person that you are,” Taylor explains. “There’s the real you, but maybe that’s not how you appear to others–so you’re asking to be brought out of yourself and into the world, accepted for this other version of yourself.”

“Perfect Kiss” is released alongside a video that was shot on Super 8 film in Los Angeles and London and features Taylor, Simonetti, and Pale Blue’s Elizabeth Wight.  

WATCH THE VIDEO FOR ‘PERFECT KISS’ HERE NOW



This team-up is years in the making, dating back to Taylor and Simonetti’s fateful first meeting while the latter was spinning a set at the now-defunct Williamsburg club Output: “I was really excited about the re-edits he was playing that night,” Taylor recalls, explaining that diving deeper into Simonetti’s work with Elizabeth Wight as Pale Blue further captured his attention. For Simonetti, the partnership was equally organic: “[Alexis has] always been one of my favorite vocalists.”

“I grew up listening to the radio on drives with my parents, whether it was driving around Bayonne, New Jersey or a trip to the Jersey shore,” Simonetti muses. “I was raised on pop music and on the radio. Before even making music with Alexis, we would have little conversations and seem to be on a similar wavelength regarding pop music. He’s kinda around the same age as me which doesn’t hurt either. I think you have to be a certain age to appreciate 80s pop music, because it does not exist as we know it today. So the songs that me and Alexis make are definitely going to have a lot of pop elements to them, even though the subject matter might not be stereotypical pop. But that’s the beauty of a good song– hiding darkness behind a pop hook.”

Taylor adds, “Having worked at the Domino office in London, situated on Smugglers Way, and having got a job there through my enthusiasm and love for records by the likes of Will Oldham, it’s a nice full circle moment for Mike and I to have this EP come out on the label.”

“I See A Darkness” and “Perfect Kiss” arrive as a limited edition 12” vinyl EP on June 12, featuring remixes from claire rousay and Black Forces. “Perfect Kiss” is available now. Initially available only on the vinyl edition, the remixes will see a digital release later this year.

The EP’s artwork was created by Ryan Parks, aka Harsh Riddims / Fit of Body. 

 “I See A Darkness / Perfect Kiss” 12” EP
SMGLR007

Side A
1. I See A Darkness 
2. I See A Darkness (claire rousay Remix)

Side B
1. Perfect Kiss
2. Perfect Kiss (Black Forces Remix)

Pre-orders are open at smugglersway.ffm.to/iseeadarkness and smugglersway.ffm.to/atms-12. 

Alexis Taylor Online
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Mike Simonetti Online
Instagram