Praise for Gang Of Youths

“an example of the eclectic, evolved direction in which their music is heading.” – Rolling Stone Australia

“A band who always swing for the fences.” – The Guardian

“Le’aupepe has embraced indigenous music native to his family’s Polynesian culture, as well as the hip-hop and dance sounds that he grew up on.” – UPROXX

“There’s something deeply philosophical and uplifting at the heart of Gang of Youths’ songs.” – The Current

“I saw Gang Of Youths last night and would describe their energy and stage presence as “extremely not normal … .” It fucking ruled.”  – Ian Cohen (Pitchfork, Spin, Stereogum)

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Gang Of Youths have today released their new album angel in realtime. via MosyRecordings / Sony Music Entertainment Australia. The album’s release caps a remarkable few months for the band including ‘angel of 8th avenue.’ coming in at #6 on triple j hottest 100, ‘in the wake of your leave’ added to playlists at Radio 1 and Radio 2 in the UK, being the cover artists on the February issue of NME and announcing their biggest Australian headline shows to date and two festival dates for A More Perfect Union as part of the run.

Listen to ‘angel in realtime’ here.

Inspired by the loss of frontman Dave Le’aupepe’s father, it’s a record which channels its emotional intensity and existential questions into an exploratory sonic tapestry that touches upon everything from Britpop and post-punk to American minimalism and contemporary classical. It also pays tribute to Le’aupepe’s family heritage, with samples and original instrumentation from the Polynesian islands and the wider South Pacific.

The album features all the big moments that have soundtracked Gang of Youths’ rise, including ‘the angel of 8th ave.’, ‘unison’, ‘the man himself’, ‘tend the garden’ and ‘in the wake of your leave.’ The album’s previously unreleased tracks provide plenty more, with an experimental hybrid of contemporary American minimalism, and electronica on ‘you in everything’, the 2-step and big beat rhythms of ‘the kingdom is within you’, and the cathartic conclusion provided by the sweeping, multi-textured ‘goal of the century’.

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New single ‘spirit boy’ is the beating heart of angel in realtime. The song features Shane McLean, a musician specialising in Taonga Pūoro (the traditional instrumentation and music culture of the Māori people) and contributes spoken word. Le’aupepe recalls: “We were fortunate to have Shane McLean, an outstanding musician and Taonga Pūoro facilitator, write and perform a spoken verse in Te Reo Māori. A wonderful Māori woman performed “rongoā” on me — a sacred healing practice. It was a transformative experience, andI’m still not quite sure why. There was a moment when this wonderful woman looked at me and said “you’re a wairua boy” — wairua in Te Reo means something like “spirit.”

Dave Le’aupepe has channelled every drop of emotion into Gang of Youths’ most personal album to date. For the band, which features multi-instrumentalists Jung Kim, Tom Hobden, Max Dunn and Donnie Borzestowski, the decision to rent an old warehouse space in Hackney, London and self-produce the record was absolutely vital.

To pay tribute to Le’aupepe’s family heritage, firstly the band made a pre-pandemic trip to Aotearoa to record with Pasifika and Māori instrumentalists the Anuanua Drummers from the Cook Islands, Shane McClean and the Auckland Gospel Choir. These recordings, together with the extensive sampling of composer and explorer David Fanshawe’s late 1970s field recordings of indigenous Pasifika music give the record a distinctive sense of time and place. When you add to this the 42-piece string section Hobden and Le’aupepe travelled to Budapest to record, the album effectively spans 50 years of collective recording and as many as 7 countries.

Dave Le’aupepe says, “I hope the record stands as a monument to the man my father was and remains long after I’m gone myself. He deserved it.”

angel in realtime. is available to buy here. A special edition of the vinyl in yellow has been added to the band’s store.

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Gang Of Youths will headline shows in Australian and Aotearoa in support of angel in realtime. presented by Handsome Tours, TEG Live, WME and triple j. The shows will be held in Australia’s most spectacular arenas in July and August 2022, kicking off at Perth’s RAC Arena, then to Adelaide Entertainment Centre and Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena, before heading to Melbourne’s iconic Rod Laver Arena. The band also return to Auckland and Wellington for their first Aotearoa headline shows in five years.

Additionally,  the band are excited to announce the return of A More Perfect Union: a festival experience curated by the band, featuring some of Australia and the world’s most exciting artists, presented by triple j. Carefully crafted from top-to-bottom, the festival will take place in Hobart and the Sunshine Coast, boasting two completely unique line-ups in some of the country’s most stunning outdoor venues.

The Hobart (TAS) instalment of A More Perfect Union 2022 will take place at the Regatta Grounds on Sunday 14th August. Gang Of Youths will be joined by none other than Arlo Parks, Cub Sport, Gretta Ray, Adam Newling and The Lazy Eyes.

The Sandstone Point (QLD) instalment of A More Perfect Union 2022 will take place at Moreton Bay’s Sandstone Point Hotel on Saturday 20th August. Gang Of Youths will be joined by Matt Corby, Middle Kids, Budjerah, BLESSED, Becca Hatch and Romero.

Gang of Youths consists of Dave Le’aupepe (vocals, guitar), Max Dunn (bass), Jung Kim (guitar, keyboards), Donnie Borzestowski (drums) and Tom Hobden (keyboards, guitar, violin).

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angel in realtime.
Tracklist

 you in everything
in the wake of your leave
the angel of 8th ave.
 returner
 unison
 tend the garden
the kingdom is within you
spirit boy
brothers
 forbearance
the man himself
 hand of god
goal of the century

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angel in realtime. will be released on digital, double vinyl and limited run D2C vinyl and CD and is now available to pre-order here.

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