Arca to release surprise album XXXXX in July
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Arca has announced her first full-length album in nearly five years, titled XXXXX, following her 2021 record kiCK iiiii. In the interim she released standalone singles such as "Puta," "Sola" and "Chama," alongside production and remix work, including a contribution to Madonna's Confessions II, making this a notable return to a complete album format for the experimental pop artist.
XXXXX arrives on 31 July via XL Recordings and consists entirely of new, previously unheard tracks across 16 songs, with no singles issued in advance. Arca has described the record as being in the spirit of her 2013 mixtape and a lengthy 2020 track, and rather than a conventional single she previewed it with a two-hour livestreamed performance on 23 July, filmed across seven locations in Barcelona and streamed on Twitch and YouTube from 9:30pm CEST (3:30pm ET).
- Arca announces new album XXXXX, out via XL Recordings on 31 July.
- First full album in nearly five years, all 16 tracks previously unreleased.
- Previewed with a two-hour Barcelona livestream on 23 July instead of a single.
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Arca is the stage name of Alejandra Ghersi, a Venezuelan-born musician and producer known for experimental, boundary-pushing electronic music. She has built a reputation over the past decade both through her own releases and through work with other major artists, and her last full album came out in 2021. Since then she has mostly put out standalone singles and worked on production and remixes for others, so a new complete album marks a return to a format she had stepped back from.
The album, called XXXXX, is due out on 31 July through XL Recordings, a label known for backing distinctive and left-field artists. It is made up entirely of 16 new songs that have not been heard before, and unusually, no individual tracks were released in advance to promote it, which is a departure from how most albums are typically rolled out.
Instead of a conventional single or trailer, Arca chose to introduce the album with a live streamed performance, filmed across multiple locations and broadcast online for free. This approach, along with her comparison of the new work to an earlier mixtape and one of her longer, more experimental tracks, gives some sense of the creative territory the album is expected to occupy before anyone has actually heard it.
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Originally published by Stereogum as “Arca Announces New Album XXXXX”.