New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Jai Wolf announces a new tour for the summer and fall in the US, paired with a new single, "(I Dread The Day He Takes You To) Paris [feat. MYRNE]," all as part of a new era he calls "Blue Babu," via Mom+Pop. The new music comes on the heels of Jai Wolf's recent performance at Coachella, where he took the stage in front of a sold-out crowd under the sunset desert sky. He performed a combination of fan favorites and previously unreleased tracks, including the debut of a song with BANKS, which was later shared by Rolling Stone, stirring excitement and chatter amongst fans.
Ahead of Coachella, Jai Wolf shared a mysteriously intriguing letter to fans via Instagram (see here), stating that his performance would launch a "new journey beginning with a demonstration in the desert, followed by an analysis of consciousness transcribed into sound." Today, Jai Wolf titles this journey as the "Blue Babu" era; the latest installment of music as an exploration of the human condition, the follow up to his widely successful debut album The Cure To Loneliness. Here, Jai Wolf creates a conceptual narrative that centers on a virtual simulation device called "Blue Babu," sold by a fictional company called Hikikomori Inc., whose name is taken from the Japanese term for severe social withdrawal. The device, which allows users to relive their past memories, represents "the dual-sided nature of how people process emotions today," he says. "You could either choose to immerse yourself into your trauma and explore it, or you could totally ignore it and escape through your vices. It's the same thing with music—it's either healing or escapism."
"This era feels like a true rebirth by pushing my sound into new territories while still feeling grounded in my usual sonic palette," says Jai Wolf. "While a lot of electronic music is defined by the production, I really wanted to focus on lyrics and songwriting for the new music."
The "Blue Babu" era marks a return for Jai Wolf, starting with the recent release of his first official single in three years, "Want It All" featuring rising pop sensation Evalyn. The track release included a visually stunning music video, directed by director Andrew Donoho(The Strokes, Joji, Janelle Monae), with an intricately choreographed dance performance. It was created with AI and ranges in visual aesthetics from oil paintings to futuristic art.
The new single "Paris," out today, was inspired by another artist who is celebrating the "eras" of their life, Taylor Swift. "The song was inspired by Taylor Swift's 'Paris' from her most recent record," says Jai Wolf. "I realized that so many artists, from the 1975 to The Chainsmokers, had written songs about it. I thought to myself: what would a Jai Wolf "
Paris" song be about? Ultimately, I thought it would be most interesting not to write about physically being in the city myself, but to write about the idea of a former lover being taken there. That felt like the most unique and original framing for the concept."
On top of a career that already includes hundreds of millions of streams on indie-dance anthems like the RIAA Certified Gold Record "
Indian Summer" and "Starlight," blockbuster festival sets from Indio to India, and regular co-signs from the likes of
Skrillex and ODESZA, Jai Wolf has curated his own lane of music as one of the most successful Bangladeshi-American artists. In June of last year, he became the first Bangladeshi American artist to sell out Red Rocks Amphitheatre as a headliner. His debut album The Cure to Loneliness exceeded expectations and fans have long been wanting more. Now audiences across the US will get to hear all of Jai Wolf's hits and music from the "Blue Babu" on tour this fall.
The newly announced tour dates kick off on August 9 in Phoenix, AZ at The Van Buren, traveling across the US through
September with stops in Austin, TX, Atlanta, GA, Washington, D.C., Brooklyn, NY, Philadelphia, PA, Boston, MA, Chicago, IL, Los Angeles, CA and Portland, OR and more. Tickets go on-sale Friday, May 19 at 10:00 AM local time via https://www.jaiwolf.com/tour.
TOUR DATES:
Wed August 9 - Phoenix, Arizona - The Van Buren
Fri August 11 - Austin,
Texas - ACL Live at the Moody Theater
Sat August 12 - Dallas,
Texas - South Side Ballroom
Sun August 13 - Houston,
Texas - House of Blues
Wed August 16 - Jacksonville, FL - Underbelly
Thu August 17 - Orlando, Florida - The Beacham
Fri August 18 - St. Petersburg, Florida - Jannus Live
Sat August 19 - Atlanta, Georgia - The Eastern
Sun August 20 - Charleston, South Carolina -
Music Farm
Wed August 23 - Asheville, North Carolina - The
Orange Peel
Thu August 24 - Charlotte, North Carolina - Blackbox Theater
Fri August 25 - Washington, DC - Echostage
Sat August 26 - Brooklyn, New York - Brooklyn Mirage
Wed August 30 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - The Ave Live
Thu August 31 - Boston, Massachusetts - Roadrunner
Fri
September 1 - Montreal, Quebec - Le Studio TD
Sat
September 2 - Toronto, Ontario - The Danforth
Music Hall
Mon
September 4 - Cincinnati, Ohio - Bogart's
Wed
September 6 - Royal Oak, Michigan - Royal Oak
Music Theatre
Thu
September 7 - Chicago, Illinois - The Salt Shed
Fri
September 8 - Madison, Wisconsin - The Sylvee
Sat
September 9 - Minneapolis, Minnesota - The Uptown
Mon
September 11 - Omaha, Nebraska - Slowdown
Wed
September 13 - Kansas City, Missouri - The Truman
Thu
September 14 - Denver, Colorado - The Mission Ballroom
Fri
September 15 - Boulder, Colorado - Boulder Theater
Sat
September 16 - Salt Lake City, Utah - The Union
Thu
September 21 - Del Mar, California - The Sound At Del Mar
Fri
September 22 - Los Angeles, California - Greek Theatre
Sat
September 23 - Berkeley, California - The Greek Theatre at UC Berkeley
Tue
September 26 - Sacramento, California - Ace of Spades
Wed
September 27 - Boise, Idaho - Knitting Factory Concert House
Thu
September 28 - Bozeman, Montana - The ELM
Fri
September 29 - Missoula, Montana - The Wilma
Sat
September - Spokane, Washington - Knitting Factory Concert House
Wed October 4 - Eugene, Oregon - McDonald Theater
Thu October 5 - Portland, Oregon - McMenamins Crystal Ballroom
Sat October 7 - Seattle, Washington - WaMu Theater
Evoking the heart-tugging feeling of a cinematic score, Jai Wolf makes electronic pop records that conjure a dazzling spectrum of emotions. Since breaking out with the 2015 indie dance certified Gold hit "Indian Summer," the Bangladeshi-born, New York-raised producer (real name Sajeeb Saha) has carved out a singular lane by balancing anthemic compositions that borrow from the grandiosity of EDM with introspective songwriting, whose sunny earworm melodies cut right through the chest. With his critically-acclaimed debut 2019 album, The Cure To Loneliness, he established his knack for genre-blending innovation and captivated listeners with nostalgia-filled indie dance records. His versatility as a musician has drawn in a global audience and led him to become the first Bangladeshi-American headlining artist to sell out Red Rocks Amphitheatre in June 2022. Jai Wolf makes his most personal statement yet in the Blue Babu era, his latest musical output via Mom + Pop. Straddling the zone between private reflection and euphoric release, the new music exhibits unprecedentedly piercing lyricism and opens up into explosive dance breakdowns veering from house and R&B to new wave and synth-pop. "A big theme of the era is looking deeply inward, assessing all your feelings, and how to reckon with them," he explains. With a headlining tour scheduled for this summer and fall his audience will no doubt feel the magical sense of connection that can only arise during the climax of a Jai Wolf anthem.
