Ohio Players Vinyl [LP]

The Black Keys’ twelfth studio album, Ohio Playersa title inspired by the legendary Dayton, Ohio, funk band of the same namefeatures several collaborations between band mates Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney with various friends and colleagues, like Dan The Automator Nakamura, Beck, Noel Gallagher, Greg Kurstin, and others. We had this epiphany: We can call our friends to help us make music,”” Carney says. Auerbach adds, No matter who we work with, it never feels like we’re sacrificing who we are. It only feels like it adds some special flavor … But when it came time to finish the album, it was just Pat and me.

The Black Keys kick off the New Year with the release of their new single Beautiful People (Stay High). The song arrives alongside the announcement of the multiple-Grammy Award-winning, Akron, Ohio natives twelfth studio album, Ohio Players. An extensive international tour will be announced at a later date.

Written by The Black Keys Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney with longtime friends Dan The Automator Nakamura and Beck, the celebratory, joyful Beautiful People (Stay High) is one of several songs on the album that feature collaborations between the band and various additional friends and colleagues, including Noel Gallagher, Greg Kurstin, and others. Speaking on the collaborative nature of the album, Carney shares, We had this epiphany: We can call our friends to help us make music. Its funny because we both write songs with other people Dan all the time [as a solo artist and producer], me when I’m producing a record. Thats what we do.

Auerbach adds, No matter who we work with, it never feels like we’re sacrificing who we are. It only feels like it adds some special flavor. We just expanded that palette with people we wanted to work with. We were there to support them and their ideas, to do whatever we could to see that moment flourish. But when it came time to finish the album, it was just Pat and me. We’d never worked harder to make a record, he continues. It’s never taken us this long to make an album. We took our time and did it right.

What we wanted to accomplish with this record was make something that was fun, Carney says. And something that most bands 20 years into their career dont make, which is an approachable, fun record that is also cool.

While making Ohio Players, a title inspired by the legendary Dayton, OH funk band of the same name, The Black Keys were also DJing dance parties in cities around the world that they called record hangs, spinning 45s from their own eclectic and growing collections. Mojo reports, The spirit of those parties infused the albums DNA. Thats been the fun of it, [says] Auerbach. Letting go a little bit.