Caroline Polachek and Danny L Harle just dropped a brand new track called “Azimuth,” and you can check it out right now on XL.
After working together for ages, Danny and Caroline finally landed on a sound they’d been chasing, something he likes to call the “trance siren.” He said, “Azimuth’ felt like the finalisation of an approach that Caroline and I had been orbiting for some time as a way of putting her voice into my music—I sometimes call it the ‘trance siren.’ You can hear manifestations of it in tracks like ‘Insomnia’ from Pang and ‘On the Beach’ from Death Stranding 2, but this was the first time I managed to translate it into my style of dance music. Azimuth’s melody could only have been sung by Caroline, it is designed around her voice, I couldn’t imagine anyone else singing it or giving a performance like that. It also allowed us to play with scale, space and quietness in a way I’ve never done before. For me, ‘Azimuth’ is a trance ballad, despairing but hopeful, best heard in a in club in a sunken cathedral.”
It’s wild how Azimuth feels both huge and soft, like it’s echoing in a giant room but also whispering right in your ear. This isn’t the first time these two have teamed up, but it’s definitely the most Danny Harle-ish version of their vibe. He also just announced a European tour, so maybe you’ll hear it live if you’re lucky.
Fans just want to hear Caroline sing on every song sometimes.
Not long ago, Danny worked with PinkPantheress on “Starlight,” and that was his first solo thing since Harlecore came out in 2021. Meanwhile, Caroline’s been everywhere—she dropped “Dang” after Desire, I Want to Turn Into You, gave us “Starburned and Unkissed” for a movie, and even popped up on the band Caroline’s album, which is kind of funny if you think about it. Most recently, she and Danny, plus Hideo Kojima, all teamed up for “On the Beach” for Death Stranding 2, which is just a wild crossover of worlds.
