Beirut has returned with new single “Tuanaki Atoll” ahead of the release of his upcoming album A Study of Losses. Commissioned by Swedish circus Kompani Giraff and inspired by German author Judith Schalansky’s novel Verzeichnis einiger Verluste, the project will be released on April 18. On the new track from the album, the artist also known as Zach Condon brings forth a regular ol’ mini-orchestra, cooking up a beautiful ramshackle melody from horns, percussion, and floating harmonies.
“The Tuanaki Atoll is said to have been an Eden-like island somewhere in the South Pacific that mysteriously disappeared under the sea during an earthquake in the 1840s,” Condon explained. “Its inhabitants were described as a people so peaceful and generous that they had no word in their language for such things as war or murder. It might be almost too obvious of a choice but nothing could fit the island vibes better than a sweet and breezy ukulele which became the foundation that I built this song around. Contrastingly yet somewhat fittingly, the lyrics took on a darker edge and ended up reflecting that side of the story. Maybe because personally I doubt that such an Eden-like place could ever exist on Earth.”
Check out the track below, and pre-order A Study of Losses here.
