Coco

Coco – Maia Friedman (Dirty Projectors), Oliver Hill (Pavo Pavo), and Dan Molad (Lucius) – announce their new record, 2, out March 1st via First City Artists, plus a North American tour. Coco released their first three singles anonymously, spurred by a curiosity in releasing art without context or expectation. However, with 2, they’re at the forefront. Their vast and varied individual creative histories come together to inform an illustrious, collective sensibility for songcraft. The resulting album is sensuous and spell-like, with sonics varying from lush, shoegaze guitars, to dusky electronica, to jangly 60’s pop, and more.  The lead single/video, today’s “Mythological Man,” opens with Maia’s alluring voice and a cascade of guitar. It’s an immediate earworm, driven by playful percussion and enthralling bass. The accompanying video was self-directed by the band and stars Maia in the title role.

The band elaborates: “This song sprang from nothing while we were cooking dinner in Joshua Tree. Danny was playing a little eight-note tongue twister on the piano, and we were joking about a familiar archetype: the man who projects consummate togetherness. He carefully self-curates and jumps through all the proper hoops to receive affirmation, but his deepest desire, companionship, is tragically elusive. With delight we realized that the piano melody mapped neatly onto the lyric ‘see the mythological man,’ and the rest of the story and music quickly snowballed.”

Coco’s self-titled debut gathered acclaim from the likes of NPR, BBC, SiriusXM, and Spotify, praised as “gorgeous, warmly wistful… a balmy, liberating groove” (Gorilla Vs. Bear). Upon its release, they headlined packed rooms in New York City, Los Angeles, and London, made their festival debut at End of the Road, and supported Kevin Morby on a national tour.

Since the last album, life has flown wildly forward for the members of Coco—Oliver getting married, Dan getting engaged, Maia giving birth to her first child. “When we started, we were all either single or in old relationships, living in different places, with different haircuts, priorities and perspectives,” the band shares. “Though it’s only been a few years, the band has seen us through fundamental transformations in each of our lives, which we are fortunate enough to process together.” Amidst shifting currents, the practice of collaborative music-making has remained a profound and grounding constant.

The band gathered for periods of time in Richmond, Virgina, working with Adrian Olsen (Lucy Dacus, Fruit Bats, Bedouine) at Montrose Recording, and in Joshua Tree, California, self-producing in an informal desert setting.  Each member a writer, player, and artist in their own right, Coco embraced a freedom in fluidity—swapping seats, instruments, and vocal parts however intuition compelled.

On 2, Maia, Oliver, and Dan continue their sacred practice—arriving to each other empty-handed and open-hearted, finding power in three equal parts. The result is pure and formidable music, songs that emerge with an elegant, egalitarian honesty and encompass a world of emotion. They’ll bring these songs to life on stage through North American in spring 2024. A full list of dates can be found below.