Young Magic unveiled another look at their forthcoming album Still Life today with the new track “Valhalla (Reprise),” accompanied by a 3D world video created by Vinyl Williams. The video, premiered today.

“‘Valhalla (Reprise)’ was the last song recorded for Still Life during a late night session at Rioux’s studio in Bed Stuy – infinite loops circulating in a world between an ancient reality and a virtual one. For me, this album was a process of sifting through my family’s history to better understand the present, so naturally, it felt at home within the seeking, mirrored halls of Lionel’s Valhalla.” – Melati Malay

The beginnings of Young Magic’s new album, Still Life, coincided with singer Melati Malay revisiting her own, in her birthplace of Indonesia. Having lost her father the previous year, she returned to the island of Java to reconnect with her family, dig up stories, and begin work on a new collection of music.

“My father had been somewhat of a mystery to me,” Melati says. “How did a boy from the Midwest end up in the jungles of Borneo during the 60s, trading his watch and a carton of cigarettes for the gravestones of the indigenous headhunters?”

The search led Melati deep into her family history. She rented a small shack by the water for a month, and with just a backpack and microphone, began recording – unraveling a past of superstition, black magic, and ties to the Javanese royal family.

“I’ve always felt torn, like some kind of hybrid existing between two worlds,” Melati says. “Born to a Catholic father and a Muslim mother, growing up bilingual, attending an international school in Jakarta where all my friends were from different countries…in a city of 30 million people where the clash between poverty and affluence is extreme.”

“In a way, Still Life became a kind of antithesis to a world where people tell you who to pray to, what to buy into, and who your enemies should be. It’s my reaction. Still Life is my way to celebrate music from all corners…my home without borders.”

Upon returning to New York, her home of 10 years, Melati put together a group of musicians and began reimagining these new musical works inspired by her personal metamorphosis. She enlisted NYC-based cellist and composer Kelsey Lu McJunkins, Detroit producer Erin Rioux, Bolivian percussionist Daniel Alejandro Siles Mendoza, and Australian producer/songwriter Isaac Emmanuel, her longtime collaborator.

Young Magic is also pleased to announce that they will embark on a cross-country tour with Yeasayer this May-June. Full dates below.

Young Magic with Yeasayer
5/12 Port City Music Hall – Portland, ME
5/13 Paradise Rock Club -Boston, MA
5/14 Irving Plaza – New York, NY
5/16 9:30 Club -Washington, DC
5/17 Union Transfer -Philadelphia, PA
5/19 The Orange Peel -Asheville, NC
5/21 Exit / In -Nashville, TN
5/22 Majestic Theatre – Detroit, MI
5/23 Lincoln Hall -Chicago, IL
5/24 First Avenue -Minneapolis, MN
5/28 Imperial -Vancouver, BC
5/29 Wonder Ballroom -Portland, OR 5/31 The Fillmore -San Francisco, CA
6/01 The Fonda Theatre -Los Angeles, CA
6/02 The Observatory North Park – San Diego, CA
6/03 The Observatory – Santa Ana, CA