Julien-K

"What's this inactivity? I can show you the way!"

The bass sound on maximal acoustic pressure; the radiant white headlights on the high end of the brightness scale; the cram-packed dance floor on the brink of ecstasy... Already during the first split seconds of the eponymous opening song, Julien-K are dictating a completely redefined direction of the US electro rock revolutionaries!

After their recently completed European tour, frontman Ryan Shuck, guitarist Amir Derakh, keyboarder / bassist Anthony "Fu" Valcic and drummer Elias Rodriguez have just returned from the year 3013. Julien-K are back. Stronger than ever, dance floor-oriented, futuristic, high-gloss pop for dark red carpets, somewhere between future disco and death star. Two years after the release of their groundbreaking debut, Death To Analog Julien-K proudly present the most modern, most individual and most stirring album of the year.

"We're Here With You" - welcome to the future!

Already at the start of the legendary predecessor band Orgy back in the late-90s, the focus shifted away from only making music: A fascinating synthesis of arts, fashion and a previously unheard hybrid sound, exceeding all imaginations or blasting powers. An idea that led to maximum success, then and now: Millions of copies sold worldwide, dozens of platinum awards, numerous top 10 hits on the dance charts, pop charts and the rock Billboard charts, as well as completely sold-out world tours on par with formations such as Linkin Park, Rammstein, KoRn and many others that definitely speak for themselves. Ryan, Amir, Elias, and Fu even made up the backing band for Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington's side project Dead By Sunrise, selling hundreds of thousands of records, and causing a wave of excitement among the masses around the globe.

With the sophomore release of the guys' main project Julien-K, another decisive step has been taken: "We're Here With You" is, above all, the result of strong characters drawing their inspirations from thousands of different sources and letting the music speak for itself - both in the form of a studio band and a live act, bursting from positive energies. On "We're Here With You", the focus is simply and solely on the essential: outstanding tracks without any stylistic limits - digital dancefloor kicks up the ass!

With a carefully hand-picked team of Electro/Techno collaborators from the European & US underground club scene, Including Motor (Dim Mak), Vandal (Lot 49) , Hyper (BT, Paul van Dyk), Sharooz (Moby, Robyn), the Z-Listers and Benjamin Vial, Julien-K have distilled the best elements of their 2010 debut album, parted ways with useless ballast and created "We're Here With You" - a milestone of the indietronic genre. Dirty pop, dancefloor rock and a mysteriously wafting fog of artificial ice.

As Amir Derakh explains it: "Everything has this 'Let's get the party started' vibe. Instead of piling on overdubs, we simplified everything this time and reduced it to the most necessary elements. I think with these tracks we've found our real style & also because of these different collaborations we did on the album. With our DJ club project Circuit Freq, Fu and I had already worked with these international artists who then became our close friends. That also explains the title 'We're Here With You.' The record is both a tribute to people like Vial, or Sharooz, and to all our fans in the whole world who have been loyal supporters for many years"

"We're Here With You" - ten sonic postcards sent from London, Paris, Tokyo, or Berlin, which the latter turned into the second home of these Californians. Wrapped up in modern sounds and clever arrangements documenting the enormous stylistic development of Julien-K. No compromises, but rather the realization of a fresh and exciting redefinition in terms of sound and look. The literal look beyond the stylistic edge, in order to create something never-before-seen. Born from personal catastrophes such as stranded relationships or deep-rooted disappointments, the tracks from "We're Here With You" might be the most moving and most powerful JK songs ever. Positive thinking against the adversities of life, as the title track already proves.

"We're Here With You: A collaboration with the duo Motor. These sizzling synths span across the whole song, rounded off by this great, dirty, sexy Clash style guitar riff. A bit like ZZ Top meets Ghostland Observatory. Or Franz Ferdinand with dark disco balls..."

"Palm Springs Reset": (Ryan Shuck) I was sitting by the pool in a beautiful Palm Springs design hotel with someone very special. She smiled, and the sun was reflected in her eyes. Suddenly this text popped up in my head - so I shortly walked around the corner, typed the lyrics into my iPhone, hummed the melody into it and sat down with her again. Hey, I just wrote a song about you - thank you very much for the inspiration.

"Cruel Daze Of Summer": A song made with our brothers the Z-Listers from Brighton UK. The creation was a true nightmare - there were thousands of different versions. We were already about to give up, as it suddenly clicked and just worked out! And now that song contains one of the best refrains that we have ever written.

"Breakfast In Berlin": Sharooz visited us in the studio, plugged in his instruments and just started jamming straight on. This sleazy, bluesy vintage guitar could have been from Joy Division... The lyrics are about all these shabby, exciting places around the world where you meet the coolest people and experience the most insane stories. No matter if in Berlin, Paris, London or Tokyo. It is about an all-night partying experience where you afterwards take the train to a new adventure.

"Close Continuance": This track was born in some night where I found myself alone on the floor of my kitchen. Just a note pad, a bottle of whiskey and myself. The original version was a lot darker, but the boys have brightened it up a bit. I served them death on a silver plate - but nowadays there is at least some light at the end of the tunnel.

"I`ll Try Not To Destroy You": This track was originally an acoustic song that we completely changed. One of the most emotional & cinematic songs we’ve ever written and a perfect ending to the album.

Okay then, spotlight on and amplifier turned to the max - Julien-K is more intoxicating than ever.