Today multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Mike Skinner returns with the second look from the highly anticipated forthcoming album ‘The Darker The Shadow The Brighter The Light’. Examining life’s nuances and turning the mundane into the extraordinary through his trademark The Streets lens, “Too Much Yayo” is a debaucherous love letter to club culture and the fallout that follows nocturnal weekends spent under shuttering strobelights and towering sound systems.
Stream “Too Much Yayo” here
“Too Much Yayo” is the first song on the album and it really is the focus of the first key scene in my film. The film is set in nightclubs, places i’ve spent many nights over the past few years DJing and performing. Obviously, clubs , music and drugs all go hand in hand – and the song really is about setting the scene before the story starts to unfold – we’ve all been in clubs like this and either been the liability or seen the liability. This is one of the beats that really reacted when I was playing it out in DJ sets before it became a song. That’s how I tested out things for this album – it really helps you understand what people react to and feel”
The music of ‘The Darker The Shadow The Brighter The Light’ is inextricably linked to the dancefloor, with tidal waves of bass, garage and house laced in, an experience akin to stumbling through different rooms of the club. Skinner, as always, is the keen eye tying his disparate world together, shining with his customary lyrical wizardry and eclectic production. The record is a classic Streets album – with all songs written by Skinner but featuring vocal contributions from longtime collaborators Kevin Mark Trail and Robert Harvey, as well as a track featuring Teef.
‘The Darker The Shadow, The Brighter The Light’ film is a tripped out noir murder mystery based in Londons’ clubland. Skinner has written, directed, shot, edited, scored, funded, and even created his own special effects on the film, shooting at a number of different locations in 2022 across the UK. The songs on the album soundtrack the film and also play the role of narrator of the film at times – and whilst neither the album or film exist without each other – both can be enjoyed separately.
The film will initially be screened on Tuesday the 19th September at Everyman Plymouth, touring nationwide through to October 6th. Tickets for the full tour are now available to purchase online with prices from £20 at the link here, where you’ll also be able to pre-order ‘The Darker The Shadow The Brighter The Light’ album by The Streets.
The album will also be supported by a full, headline The Streets tour across the United Kingdom, commencing in late October, with support fromHak Baker, Joy Anonymous and Master Peace.