Bijou Noir announces expansive alt-pop LP Expatriarch
GIVE/TAKE is thrilled to introduce Expatriarch, Bijou Noir’s sophomore album featuring eight reflective, lyrical, and vibrant alternative pop songs.
Bijou Noir (meaning “Dark Jewel” in French) is an alternative pop band founded in 2014 by composer/singer/producer Augustus Watkins. Bijou Noir deftly calls on diverse influences from neo-soul, electro, synth-packed arena anthems, and goth-tinged industrial, touching on listeners’ genre and mood expectations, but always setting its own distinct path. Watkins' watery lyrics weave tapestries of vulnerable emotion while his vocals can burn or balm with singular skill.
After leaving his home in Minneapolis in 2016 and living out of a suitcase for nearly four years, songwriter Augustus Watkins watched from afar as America reeled from the 2016 presidential election and then reckoned with itself during #MeToo and the Black Lives Matter protests, while the artist re-examined his own identity, privilege, community, and uncertain future. The deeply personal themes explored in Expatriarch became even more culturally relevant in 2020, as the world locked down and self-isolated in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and as Americans continued to address their own relationships with white supremacy.
Each song was written on solo ukulele — an instrument small enough to fit on airplanes and trains — and then arranged into full electronic pop productions in remote locations across Western and Central Europe, as well as The Balkans. The songs were completed in Los Angeles, mixed by Minneapolis alum Garrett Neal (Holidae), and mastered at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in 2021.
Watkins and Bijou Noir are currently based in Los Angeles.
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Expatriarch will be available worldwide October 1st on digital platforms and limited-edition CD and can be pre-ordered now.
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Watch the stark, stirring video for "I Turned Into A River":
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KPT - Obliterate
“An industrial opus…The stark noise is drowning and a soundscape to that introvert within us all located between desolation and absolution. Best heard in a dark room with earphones and a cigarette.” -Jammerzine
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MJIRI - SWEAT
"The EP deals with covid-induced claustrophobia by lusting for the dance floor while splicing Nina Simone and a power preacher over heavy hitting tracks, purposefully giving the black voice power and prominence."
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