Norwegian Tropical house pioneer and DJ; Kygo has released his much-awaited 3rd studio album; an 18track packed “Golden Hour” today 29th May while on the Golden Hour Festival.
Kygo has been teasing the album to fans for the past couple of months; with the release of a string of standout singles. Two weeks to the outing of the “Golden Hour” album, he shared an image of the track-list of this his highly anticipated forthcoming album, though sneakily blocking out all of the unreleased names of collaborators. The album follows up Kygo’s last major projects ‘Kids In Love’ and “Cloud Nine”. The EDM act is best known for his 2017 hit song “It Ain’t Me” featuring Selena Gomez, and 2018 single Born To Be Yours Feat. Imagine Dragons.
Golden Hour is arguably one of the most anticipated albums within the electronic scene this year, and today 29th, the wait is finally calmed as the 28-year-old Norwegian DJ who soared to new heights with the 18-song compilation that packed a punch; has dropped it, all the while staying true to his signature tropical house sound.
Being a DJ who’s used to playing at festivals and before multitudes of people, this time a physical audience could not be contained due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kygo therefore put on an online/ virtual EDM festival (Golden Hour Festival) and hosted it himself. The livestream featured an all-star cast of supporting artists; Alan Walker, Zac Brown Band, legendary singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, and Golden Hour collaborators OneRepublic, Chelsea Cutler, among other acts as earlier fleshed out by Kygo on a poster he shared on his social media.
The Golden Hour Festival was streaming Live on Kygo’s YouTube channel and in celebration of the album’s imminent release, Kygo closed the livestream event by performing the album’s songs for the first time. The festival was also a fundraiser event to support the World Health Organization in the efforts of providing relief to the COVID19 victims.
Having released six singles off the upcoming LP, those singles showed us that the full album was going to have a monster of collaborations; and from the reveal, we can tell that a lot has been put into this album. With 18 tracks on it, it is quite clear that there is a very love fueled inspiration thanks to the track list we can see; hence bringing it out as one of his biggest bodies of work. The final Golden Hour Album Track list includes 18 songs in all and they are: –
- The Truth (Feat. Valerie Broussard)
- Lose Somebody (Feat. OneRepublic)
- Feels Like Forever (Feat. Jamie N Commons)
- Freedom (Feat. Zak Abel)
- Beautiful (Feat. Sandro Cavazza)
- To Die For (Feat. St. Lundi)
- Broken Glass (Feat. Kim Petras)
- How Would I Know (Feat. Oh Wonder)
- Could You Love Me (Feat. Dreamlab)
- Higher Love (Feat. Whitney Houston)
- I’ll Wait (Feat. Sasha Sloan)
- Don’t Give Up on Love (Feat. Sam Tinnesz)
- Say You Will (Feat. Patrick Droney and Petey)
- Follow (Feat. Joe Janiak)
- Like It Is (Feat. Zara Larsson and Tyga)
- Someday (Feat. Zac Brown)
- Hurting (Feat. Rhys Lewis)
- Only Us (Feat. Haux)
The tropical house connoisseur continues to share his signature uplifting sound while simultaneously exploring new elements. From releasing an epic collaboration with OneRepublic on “Lose Somebody” to providing us “Freedom” with Zack Abel, Kygo has consistently been brightening up our quarantine days as he shares a taste of his new album. Six of the tracks that were released ahead of the full project, are; “Higher Love” officially ushering in the new era in June 2019. Whitney Houston’s cover of Steve Winwood’s 1986 classic is the clear standout of the bunch, coupling the late, great singer’s immaculate range with Kygo’s sublime production. Houston brought star power to an otherwise little-known group of featured artists; country star Zac Brown and pop-rock band OneRepublic are the only other big names, and neither has achieved the same legend status, of course.
That said, Brown, and One Republic front man Ryan Tedder make strong cases on Golden Hour. Their respective tracks, “Someday” and “Lose Somebody,” carry the weight of more forgettable numbers by British singer-songwriters Joe Janiak (“Follow”) and Haux (“Only Us”). With a chanty, infectious chorus, Brown’s song is a hidden gem, while OneRepublic’s slow-building ode to loss boasts the emotive storytelling for which Tedder, has become known. On Kygo offers up a soothing instrumental around an emotionally charged vocal on him and One Republic’s “Lose Somebody”. The song is a sure-fire anthem for anyone who’s walked away from a relationship before realizing they made a mistake, featuring the lyric “Sometimes you gotta lose somebody just to find out you really love them”.
“The Truth” featuring born-and-raised Philadelphian Valerie Broussard (who has previously worked with Kygo on “Think About You”), for example, is an enticing opener, with mesmeric reverb and lyrics about a partner changing over time and keeping the protagonist “up all night, wondering why you lie.” Pop princess Kim Petras offers up another likely fan favorite with the finger-snapping “Broken Glass,” and indie star Sasha Sloan’s “I’ll Wait” is perhaps the most stunning EDM song on here.
Kygo continues to raise the stakes on he and Sam Tinnesz’s “Don’t Give Up on Love,” which sounds as though it were recorded on a submarine. (Hell, it even has a line about “living underwater” in its lyrics) The track is peculiar, innovative and, well, all of the adjectives, complete with an oh-so memorable drop that only Kygo could be behind. After all, he always delivers — even in the most uncertain of times.
Much of the album, which is the follow-up to 2017’s “Kids in Love”, stays true to the formula that Kygo has perfected over the years: lush midtempos with rich piano melodies and beach-ready beat drops. While some may argue that the music producer plays it safe by recreating the vibe of his previous hits, his growth as an artist is evident.
Kygo’s new full-length album is out and available for streaming and downloading across all digital platforms: Stream Here: –
