Gabe Gurnsey has returned with details of his new LP, Diablo, and revealed the first single and belting opening track, ‘Push.’ Diablo is due for release on 9th September via Phantasy.
His new record is an intimate collaboration with Gurnsey’s girlfriend, Tilly Morris, whose role is that of both muse and collaborator. “I wanted Tilly to dominate on Diablo,” Gurnsey explains. “I wanted her to have free rein. This album works because of her influence, her input.”
‘Push‘ is a tantalising teaser built on a solid framework of throbbing 808 beats and strident synth lines. While Morris’s vocals wrap themselves around you, at once instructive, alluring and slightly sinister. It’s an intoxicating brew that takes you down stairwells to dark clubs with bodies gyrating on dance floors. The accompanying film is our featured video of the week. All ravey pink-tinged effects, flashing lights and featuring Morris front and centre.
“Push is all about lustful energy,” Gurnsey says of the album opener. “Recreating that immediate feeling of connection with someone and knowing it’s going to take you on some twisted euphoric journey. Where will we end up?”
Diablo is the follow-up to Gurnsey’s 2018 debut, Physical, on Erol Alkan’s Phantasy Sound. Where Physical followed the arc of a night out in a linear way, Diablo expands time, slows it down and opens it up, showing a quiet confidence and progression.
“This record is formed out of a lot of trust and lust,” Gurnsey says. “And I think it’s very honest in a lot of ways, in terms of letting go, in terms of exploring, just in terms of being a bit fucking happy.” He explains. “Tilly’s been really great at assessing where I’m at: ‘Yeah, that’s cool. That’s shite.’ We work together. I’ll come up with a melody or an idea for a vocal and then I’ll leave her to it and she’ll just add stuff. We’re both big fans of that manipulated vocal sound.”
Perhaps the biggest change for Gabe is that he is no longer a drummer, a role he thrived in as a member of Factory Floor, whose uncompromising approach to electronic music made them one of the UK’s most energetic live acts. Physical still contained plenty of his tough syncopated rhythms, but on Diablo, he’s mainly programming them rather than stuck behind the traps. “It just didn’t really suit it as much,” he confesses. “It didn’t really need it.” Nonetheless, rhythm is still at the centre of his songwriting process. “100% start with the drums – and bass. And then the melody. That’s always the foundation. Get the drums right, and you’re pretty much on your way, aren’t you?”
It’s a generous stew which shows its appreciation for his forebears without ever being overshadowed by them. “I love the’80s,” he admits. “It’s been a big influence. There’s just something quite melancholy about that era, isn’t there?”
Gabe Gurnsey’s “Diablo” LP is due for release 9 September via Phantasy. Pre-Order HERE.
