UK trio GoGo Penguin are gearing up to release their new album Everything Is Going To Be OK on April 14 via Sony/XXIM (pre-order), their first with new drummer Jon Scott (formerly of Mulatu Astatke’s band), and we’re now premiering the album’s second single, “Saturnine.” Opening with a percussive synth and building into a densely-textured, piano-driven instrumental, the song cleverly plays with sparseness, keeping every piece of the track audible as the band layers piano, bass, and drum lines. Pianist/synthesist Chris Illingsworth tells us:
The main synth line for this track had been in our pot of ideas for a while but the original version was much quicker and a bit darker. One day I was improvising with it when Nick came into the room and said, ‘try playing it this speed’ and gave me a much slower tempo. It was perfect, suddenly it had a real character and the ideas started flowing. I asked him ‘what gave you the idea to slow it down?’ and he told me it was the lucky cat.
Bassist Nick Blacka adds:
In our studio we have a lucky cat, like the ones you sometimes see in Chinese restaurants. Its arm makes a clicking sound when it waves, reminiscent of a metronome. It was a strange place to find inspiration, but it was just what we needed for this track. The title felt apt as one day we were discussing it and Chris mentioned how he felt it sounded a bit sad and melancholic. It hadn’t really occurred to me up until this point as I was more focused on it sounding quite bouncy and poppy to my ears. I think it’s a bit of both, but we find it’s fascinating that we can be working on the same track at the same time and yet experience it differently whilst doing so.
Listen to “Saturnine” and previous single “Glimmerings” below.
GoGo Penguin will also support the new album with a North American tour that finds them traveling from coast to coast between late April and mid-May. They’re also part of the newly-announced lineup for Japan’s Fuji Rock Festival. Tickets for the stateside tour are available now.
The trio come to NYC to close the North American tour on May 13 at Music Hall of Williamsburg. All dates below.
GOGO PENGUIN — 2023 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES
4/27 Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom
4/28 San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
4/30 Portland – Alberta Rose Theatre
5/01 Vancouver – Hollywood Theatre
5/02 Seattle, WA – Neptune
5/06 Minneapolis, MN – Dakota Jazz
5/07 Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall
5/09 Toronto – Opera House
5/10 Montreal – Corona Theatre
5/12 Boston, MA – Crystal Ballroom
5/13 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg