Eccentric French talent Joakim will drop his Tropics of Love LP via Because late this spring, but precedes the effort with the On the Beach EP (artwork above), featuring the album’s first single alongside remixes from CFCF and Principles of Geometry. Fans of Neil Young may recognize the title of Joakim’s latest effort, which is in fact a cover of the titular song from the Canadian singer/songwriter’s 1974 album. “On the Beach” takes on a completely electronic palette in Joakim’s hands, with the Parisian’s vocals ran through a robotic vocoder as patient layers of analog synths and bare-bones drum machine hits move the track along at a hypnotic pace. The artist himself sums up the resulting production best, stating that with his cover he has “twisted [Young’s] blues tune and turned it into something completely different, and, much to my surprise, even darker.” Joakim’s On the Beach EP will see its full release on March 31, while his upcoming Tropics of Love is slated to drop on May 26.

On the Beach