It’s been four years since Dutch-born electronic musician/producer Tom Holkenborg (AKA Junkie XL) put out an album, but he’s been keeping himself very busy. Since 2008’s Booming Back At You, Holkenborg has done production work for the likes of Madonna, Coldplay, Robert Smith, and Rammstein, contributed new music to EA video games The Sims 3, DOA: Dead or Alive, and Kingdom of Heaven, and worked with film composer extraordinaire Hans Zimmerman on films like Inception, Madagascar 3, and, yes, The Dark Knight Rises. Yet somehow, Holkenborg still set aside enough time to complete work on his sixth full-length, Synthesized, and has it ready for a November 27th release via Nettwerk Records.
As you can tell, the 15-year veteran has compiled quite a little black book of friends over the years (Elvis included), and he’s called upon quite a few for Synthesized. Tears for Fears’ Curt Smith, Tommie Sunshine, Fredrik from Datarock, and Chinese Flash Mob’s Isis Salam all make appearances. Junkie XL has also resurrected iconic psychologist, author, and drug advocate Timothy Leary, whose voice delivers lines from his book The Psychedlic Experience: Going Out during album track “Leave Behind Your Ego”.
The “pulsating” track “Gloria” featuring the tough, bass-heavy stylings of Fredrik precedes the album on October 23rd. As an even earlier taste of Synthesized, however, check out the video by Trippple Nippples for “Off the Dancefloor” featuring Isis Salam, followed by the complete tracklist.
Synthesized Tracklist:
01. Take Off On Molly’s E
02. Off The Dancefloor (feat. Isis Salam)
03. Leave Behind Your Ego (feat. Timothy Leary)
04. Synthesized
05. When Enough Is Not Enough (feat. Curt Smith)
06. Twilight Trippin
07. Love Machine (feat. Tommie Sunshine)
08. Gloria (feat. Datarock)
09. Bonzai
10. Klatshing!
11. The Art of Luxurious Intergalactic Time Travel
