The Chemical Brothers bring sunshine to new single "The Darkness That You Fear"

The Chemical Brothers are back with a joyous, sunny new single, “The Darkness That You Fear.” Using a couple different vocalis, recorded and sampled, there’s a nostalgic feel to the track, not unlike The Avalanches, with maybe a little of New Order’s “Bizarre Love Triangle” in there as well. The duo’s Tom Rowlands calls it “a hopeful piece of music. When we found the combination of the different voices worked set to the flow of the music, it made us feel optimistic—like it was something we wanted to share.” It’s their first new music since No Geography.

The song actually premiered during Apple’s spring product launch event on Tuesday and is now available to stream, along with a colorful video made by director Ruffmercy. “When I first heard the song I immediately connected with the theme and the overall positive vibe,” says Ruffmercy. “New government rules for relaxing lockdown had been announced and combined with the sun shining, it left me feeling positive about the forthcoming summer. It also triggered a strong sense of nostalgia that led to me going back to look for visual inspiration from the period in time when I first discovered The Chemical Brothers in the mid ’90’s. The video combines archive rave footage from the mid to late 90’s with hand painted Super 8 film textures and hand drawn animation. I love using colour to create chaos and evoke emotions and this was the perfect project to do that.” Watch the video below.

“The Darkness That You Fear” will get a 12″ release as part of the first Record Store Day Drop on June 12.