In April, after a two-year hiatus, the Nijmegen-based art rock band De Staat made a comeback with the highly anticipated single ‘THE KING.’ It turns out this was a preview of their new album, ‘DE STAAT,’ set to be released on September 18 via V2 Records.

new album ‘DE STAAT’ (‘de staat’), due for release on 18 September via V2 Records. The second single, ‘THE FIRE’, is out today; a driving track with a confrontational message. The new work is accompanied by an art installation and a conceptual live show, De Staat Becomes De Staat. Themes such as power, manipulation, misinformation and autocracy have featured in De Staat’s work before, but never with such urgency as now. Frontman Torre Florim on the album:

“As a band, we’ve often explored themes such as power, faith and the increasingly blurred line between reality and fiction. The current world has drawn us further down that dark path, and it suddenly feels as though the name we came up with 25 years ago has taken on a deeper meaning. As if we’ve been unconsciously working towards this all along. That’s why our seventh album is called DE STAAT.”

The driving single ‘THE FIRE’ hits a nerve in today’s consumer society: “New car, new war, watch the battles at the bar, Oh come on, it’s looking dire, but I wouldn’t worry about the fire It’s only burning overseas” In the words of Torre Florim:

“THE FIRE is about the comfortable assumption that the world’s disasters will stay safely on the other side of the screen. We hang in that quiet space between knowing and doing — and from this side, it’s easy to mistake one for the other.“

The upcoming Dutch live show is developed in collaboration with director Floor Houwink ten Cate (Battlefield of Dreams, Brabo Leone), contemporary audiovisual artist Boris Acket (Joep Beving, Fred Again..), lighting designer Freek Ros (Wende, Altın Gün), visual artist Tarik Barri (Thom Yorke, Nicolas Jaar) and audio designer Reinier Rietveld (Craigie Horsefield). The highly topical concept resonates with today’s dystopian fears as never before. Next to these three exclusive shows the band will also perform regular lie shows throughout the EU and UK.

DE STAAT dutch tourdates:

3 juli – Beuningen, Down The Rabbit Hole festival

2 & 3 Oktober – Amsterdam, Koninklijk Theater Carre (sold out)