Larry Gus (real name Panagiotis Melidis) will return to DFA with Subservient, his fourth release for the label.

More pop-oriented than Melidis’ previous albums, Subservient is a lush combination of “crisis funk pop and trad Mediterranean grooves.” Lyrics sung in Greek and English address Melidis’ overwhelming struggles with being a father, husband, artist, and human in 2019. In the Greek artist’s own words, this album is about “trying to understand empathy and act with it on everyday life,” as well as “the imperative of empathy above everything else.”

The 10-track album is sample-free, a first for Melidis, who plays every instrument himself: a drum kit, an SM57 microphone, a guitar, a bass, a TE OP-1 synthesizer, and a Roland JV-1010 synth module.

We’re told that “the thoughtful, upbeat arrangements and gentle vocals are spacious and warm, and tend to offset whatever darker tone the lyrics might imply.”

Melidis will also be releasing a 7″ single alongside the album, which features two A-sides, “Kerkis (Judas-Tree)” and “Foreign Steps,” from the same recording sessions as Subservient. The lyrics to “Kerkis (Judas-Tree)” were written by Efthimis Filippou, an award-winning screenwriter known for his work with director Yorgos Lanthimos on films like “Dogtooth,” “The Lobster,” and “The Killing of a Sacred Deer.” The 7″ precedes an upcoming audio play, written by Filippou and scored by Meldis to be produced with the Onassis Stegi (a.k.a Cultural Center) sometime next year. The audio play will be released on DFA in 2020.

Melidis released his last album, I Need New Eyes, via DFA in 2015.

Tracklisting

01. Total Diseases (Subservience)
02. A Likely Projection
03 .Text of Intent
04. Taped Hands Here
05. In This Position
06. Ayler the Pilot
07. The Sun Sections
08. Readers & Authors
09. Classifying a Disease
10. Bare Concrete (Itea 97-09)

Subservient LP is out October 25 via DFA Records. Meanwhile, you can stream “Taped Hands Here” below, and pre-order the album HERE.