Bastille have always reflected on their surroundings in their art, but how to make sense of a world where fake news has agency and our reality is increasingly lived online? A world where we can be whoever we want to be from behind the glare of a screen, creating avatars that transcend our inadequacies and gloss over the disappointments that real life throws at us.
21st Century boredom has accelerated the need to create fantasies, compounded further by the recent pandemic. From flattering filters on Instagram to inhabiting the virtualscapes of the gamer’s universe, both offer us an infinite freedom and the ability to thrive more so than real life itself.
On new single “Distorted Light Beam”, co-written and co-produced with Ryan Tedder alongside the band’s long-time collaborator Mark Crew, the multi-award winning British band reflect on how we are all changing, and the ways in which we can manipulate our realities to fit a narrative that better suits us. Call it dystopian, utopian or simply call it the future… This isn’t a song that sits in judgement so much as recognises the paradigmatic shift taking place…. “When I’m dreaming tonight, I can do anything,” sings Dan “When I’m dreaming tonight, I can go anywhere… When I’m dreaming tonight, I can be anyone…”
Dan says, “For us Distorted Light Beam soundtracks dancing through some twisted, euphoric futuristic club space. It’s a song about limitless possibilities – which isn’t something any of us actually have in real life right now, so it’s been fun to explore that idea while experimenting with new sounds in our music.”
You don’t predict the future. You imagine it……..
In January 2021, Bastille were the subject of ReOrchestrated, a documentary film that provided a revelatory and bracingly honest new look into the band’s journey so far, framed through their ReOrchestrated shows and diving into themes of motivation, anxiety and imposter syndrome.
This summer Bastille ReOrchestrated headline both Latitude and Standon Calling with a further two sold out shows at Hampton Court Palace Festival in August – dates below.
With over 11 million records sold, 6 UK top 40 singles and 1.5 billion video views, Bastille continue to be one of the world’s most streamed bands.
Summer festival dates
Standon Calling 23rd July
Latitude Festival 25th July
Hampton Court Palace Festival 17th & 18th August
Socials
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Facebook: https://Bastille.lnk.to/DDPreOrderFP
Twitter: https://Bastille.lnk.to/DDPreOrderTW
