Today Bartees Strange releases a new video for “Flagey God,” a standout track from his debut album Live Forever. Praised by many for his seamless genre-weaving, Strange pulls from his lifelong obsession with house djs and singers like Steve Spacek, Burial, and Jai Paul to create an electrifying and infectious moment.

“In my spare time, I make beats all the time. It’s honestly more fun than writing with guitars sometimes,” he explains. “Flagey God came from a really natural and comfortable place for me musically, despite its moodiness thematically.”

Inspired by a trip to Flagey Square in Brussels, Bartees recalls being in a place for the first time where he could be anyone he wanted. “No one knew me there. I was super lost in my life at the time and confused about what to do next, but in Flagey, I felt like I was capable of anything… A Flagey God.”

Perhaps that night in Brussels was just a foreshadow of the breakout year Strange would have surrounding the releases of Live Forever and his EP released earlier in the year via Brassland, Say Goodbye To Pretty Boy. In a year where most established artists stumbled, Bartees was everywhere––garnering the critical adoration of outlets like Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, The FADER, Stereogum, NME, NPR Music, The New Yorker, and Pigeons & Planes, as well as appearing on Late Night With Seth Meyers, KEXP, NPR’s Tiny Desk, SiriusXMU, Entertainment Tonight, and more.

Recorded in a barn in Wassaic, NY by Bartees and engineer Brian DiAmeglio, and later mastered by Grammy-nominated producer Will Yip, Live Forever is an intricate and idiosyncratic 11-track saga about growing up (and glowing up) Black in America.

It spans gentle, Moses Sumney-meets-Yves Jarvis minimalism, Kings of Leon-ish indie rock vigor with post-punk cracks in its danceable veneer, the throbbing industrial alt-soul of Algiers, Justin Vernon’s acoustic tenderness, and the volatile, unforgiving production and delivery of Death Grips. Simply put, it is a combination that none but Strange could execute.

tickets on sale now:
Sat Sept 11 – Chicago, IL – Pitchfork Festival
Fri Sept 24 – Flushing, NY – Governors Ball
Thurs Sept 30 – Vancouver, BC – Hollywood Theatre *
Fri Oct 1 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom *
Sat Oct 2 – Seattle, WA – Neptune Theatre *
Tues Oct 5 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Urban Lounge *
Weds Oct 6 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theatre *
Fri Oct 8 – Iowa City, IA – Englert Theatre *
Sat Oct 9 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue *
Tues Oct 12 – Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall *
Thurs Oct 14 – Toronto, ON – The Opera House *
Fri Oct 15 – Montreal, QC – L’Asataral *
Sat Oct 16 – Boston, MA – House Of Blues *
Mon Oct 18 – South Burlington, VT – Higher Ground *
Fri Oct 22 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club *
Fri Oct 29 – San Francisco, CA – Outside Lands
Weds Nov 3 – Reykjavik, Iceland – Iceland Airwaves