Amen Dunes Shares Video For New Nine-Minute Song 'Round The World'
Death jokes Out May 10 via Sub Pop
April 10, 2024
Amen Dunes (aka Damon McMahon) is releasing a new album, Death jokes, on May 10 via Sub Pop, his first album for the label. Now he's shared his third single, the nine-minute “Round the World,” via a music video. He has also announced some new tour dates. Steven Brahms directed the video. Check it out below, followed by the tour dates.
The song began as a vocal memo in the winter of 2019, with McMahon singing along to an improvised piano part. The song was completed in July 2022 and features various samples.
McMahon shared this statement about the song:
“Everyone wants everything to come so easily.
Everyone wants to be comfortable, but they are so uncomfortable.
We have so much of everything that it means nothing.
We get so much that we get absolutely nothing.
Some of us find a way to make our voices heard, but most just use us.
You think they hear you, but they don't.
You say be yourself, but you won't break the rules.
Poor cops, don't let them tell you what to do.
You would hit a lot harder if you stopped being so cynical.
Fuck when you fuck, fist when you hit, love when you say you love.
We talk about the desire for inclusion, but we shout it while hiding in our cells.
We talk about manipulation, but we do it using their methods and means.
They want us to feel heard, so they encourage us to attack each other.
We are told that self-obsession is self-expression.
“You say nobody cares about you, but you don't.
My songs are all deadly jokes and will stay for a long time.
They remind me not to take myself too seriously.
I barely wrote them anyway. So who am I kidding?
And when I break the rules and speak to you honestly because I love you,
this joke might kill me too.
There are more tragedies than you think are tragedies.
Wake up, live in love.
You say life is hard, but it's a joke.
The world is not going to end, in fact it is just beginning.”
He previously shared his first single, “Purple Land,” via a music video. It was one of the songs of the week. He then shared his second single, “Boys,” via a music video. It was also one of the songs of the week.
Death jokes follows Amen Dunes' acclaimed 2018 album, Freedomwhich was released on Scared Bones and the 2021 single “Feel Nothing”, which featured UK duo Sleaford Mods and was his first single for Sub Pop.
Death jokes she went through a lengthy labor process, with labor set to begin in 2019. McMahon experienced health issues in 2020, including COVID-19, and lost 30 pounds. In recent years, his first child was born and he moved from Los Angeles to Woodstock, New York. McMahon also struggled to find collaborators who could align with his vision for the album. He eventually ended up working with jazz bassist Sam Wilkes and producers Christoffer Berg (Fever Ray) and Kwake Bass (Tirzah, Dean Blunt), as well as doing sessions with Panoram and Money Mark. The latest album features samples taken from YouTube videos, including standup routines by Lenny Bruce and Richard Pryor.
Read our 2018 interview with Amen Dunes at Freedom.
Amen Dunes tour Dates:
Marry. May 8 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
Fri May 10 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether
Marry. May 15 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
Mon July 1 – Paris, FR @ Trabendo
Marry. July 3 – Berlin, DE @ Gretchen
Fri 5th July – Roskilde, DK @ Roskilde festival
Sun. July 7 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
Tue 9 Jul – London, UK @ KOKO
Fri July 19th – Chicago, IL @ Pitchfork Music festival
Tue Aug 13 – Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
Marry. August 14 – Seattle, Washington @ The Showbox
Fri Aug 16 – Vancouver, BC @ The Pearl
Thu Sept 5 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
Fri Sep 6 – Washington DC @ Black Cat
Sun. September 8 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
Tue Sep 10 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theatre
Marry. September 11 – Austin, TX @ Empire Garage
Fri Sep 13 – Denver, CO @ Summit
Tue Sep 17 – Toronto, ON @ The Concert Hall
Marry. September 18 – Montreal, QC @ Le Studio
from our partners at http://www.undertheradarmag.com/news/amen_dunes_shares_video_for_nine_minute_new_song_round_the_world
