Pagliaccio, the new single from Barbarossa, aka Londoner James Mathé, is set for release on Memphis Industries on August 19, 2013.  It’s taken from his new album, Bloodlines, out August 6.

Pagliaccio, which means ‘clown’ in Italian, blends Mathé’s soulful vocals with dusky electronics to great effect. Recently signed to iconic London label Memphis Industries (Field Music, POLIÇA, The Go! Team, Dutch Uncles), Mathé is influenced by everything from soul men Stevie Wonder, D’Angelo and Levon Helm to Dirty Projectors and Sufjan Stevens but points to one inspiration in particular for the overall mood of the new album Bloodlines – Vincent Gallo’s cult ’90s film Buffalo 66, a twisted romance about a tap dancer who falls for her convict kidnapper – “the end scene which features Yes’s Heart of the Sunrise and the scene with Cristina Ricci dancing to King Crimson’s Moonshine at a bowling hall especially,” he notes.

Following support slots with Junip (in which Mathé plays live) and label mates POLIÇA, Barbarossa will be performing live across the summer including festival spots at Glastonbury and Bestival.

Bloodlines