Italian DJ-producer David August has shared “33CHANTS,” the second single from his forthcoming third full-length album, D’Angelo. 

Speaking about “33CHANTS,” August says: “I was reading Dante Alighieri’s “Divine Comedy” during the time I was making the album. It’s like a spiritual path written in chants, where the sound of words sounded like music to me for the first time. It’s very melodic even though there’s no written melody. The lyrics are my attempt at a dialogue with Dante, while also leaving an open space for today. This is something present in the whole record; I constantly felt like I had one foot in the past and one in the present.”

Fusing laidback pop sensibility with moody cinematographic soundscapes, we’re told that D’Angelo is the sound of “a young artist getting in touch with their roots,” exploring new landscapes and freeing inhibitions. Where he channelled this journey into ambience on DCXXXIX A.C.—his debut on his own label, 99CHANTS—D’Angelo has August deconstructing pop atmospheres while in search of his past and reforming them into something “deeply moving.” 

The album’s spiritual inspiration is rooted in Italy’s rich and complex artistic history, and how certain artists broke boundaries, such as Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, who mastered the art of polyphonic and counterpointed composition during the Renaissance. “I looked at the Italian culture I grew up with, that has always been present since I was a kid,” August says. “I had to start with a deeper study of these artists, composers, and writers who formed the cultural and emotional bonds I feel towards Italy.” 

August’s first album, Times, arrived in 2013 on Diynamic. 

Tracklisting

01. Narciso

02. D’Angelo

03. 33Chants

04. Florence

05. The Life Of Meris

06. Elysian Fields

07. True Heart

D’Angelo LP will land on October 5 via PIAS, with “33Chants” and the title track streaming in full below.