Photo by Brent Goldsmith
Robert Alfons, the enigmatic mastermind of TR/ST, returns with another shadowy and compelling modern synthpop single. Titled “Dark Day,” this latest release offers a glimpse of his forthcoming album, “Performance,” slated for release on September 13 via Dais Records. In tandem with this announcement, Alfons has revealed plans for his autumn European tour.
Emerging onto the scene in 2010, Alfons has carved out a niche with his brooding blend of elegant electronic pop imbued with a dark, seductive allure. Dark Day is a solemn dirge, with hushed tones and discordant synths crafting an unsettling hypnagogic atmosphere before an explosive hook ignites the track. His music is a noir film in sound, constantly playing a game of shadows and light.
“I think there’s something in the song about the flashes that come to you when you try to fall asleep, flashes that show you where you have unfinished business,” Alfons muses.
Listen to “Dark Day” below:
TR/ST’s forthcoming album Performance takes its name from a friend’s offhand remark about Alfons’ inherently performative demeanor. The music oscillates between beauty and bitterness, anthem and anguish, capturing the grandeur of melancholia. This album chronicles emotional turmoil, marked by guilt, ghosts, and unresolved tensions.
Recorded in the sprawling, light-polluted labyrinth of Los Angeles, Performance simmers with themes of dread, lust, reckoning, and abandonment. Co-produced with the multifaceted Nightfeelings, the album achieves a smoky, dense atmosphere with eerie synths, profound bass, and Alfons’ bruised, crooning vocals.
“It was such a pleasure working with Cecile Believe and Nightfeelings on production for this track,” Alfons admits.
Performance stands as a world unto itself—persuasive, immersive, and intoxicating. It hovers at the thin line between stirring and disturbing. Alfons’ voice, the anchor in the chaos, sings a collage of impressions and confessions with a blurred, stream-of-consciousness logic. He stands as both observer and instigator, performer and playwright, finding freedom on the stage and in the shadows of the night. His presence is a paradox, a mixture of poise and frenzy, delivering an experience that pulls you into its dark, alluring grip. The album’s allure lies in its ability to be both a refuge and a revelation, a place where Alfons’ haunting vocals guide you through a maze of emotions and electric beats.
Pre-order Performance here.
TR/ST is about to embark on a worldwide tour, starting in early September in Mexico, whisking throughout Europe through the fall, and back in North America on Halloween through the end of November. Dates are below:
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