V2 records news – The Hickey Underworld – ‘Cold sun’, new album
THE HICKEY UNDERWORLD Releases Fourth Studio Album
"Cold Sun"

THE HICKEY UNDERWORLD
Share animated video for "Keep" in collaboration with Canadian art duo "State of Posion"
The Hickey Underworld share the video for "Keep" one of the singles on their latest record "Cold Sun", which came out 13 March on V2 records. Keep is one of the first more 'quiet' Hickey Underworld songs and turned out to be an album favourite of many. The clip was created by Madeline Khan and Jesse DeMartin of State of Poison, a Canadian production company specializing in music videos. After hearing the advance single "Euromancer," State of Poison reached out to The Hickey Underworld themselves: "Heard your music come up on our 'suggested' and were blown away! It would be sick to do a music video for you."
Inspired by classic animated films such as The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) and Moonbird (1959), the directing duo opted for a mix of stop-motion, paper cut-outs, and traditional cel animation. This handcrafted aesthetic perfectly complements the fragile "Keep," the moment of calm on Cold Sun.
The Hickey Underworld - Keep [Official Music Video]

27 March live @ Trix, Antwerpen
2 April live @ Cactus Club, Brugge
16 April live @ Beurschouwburg Brussels
23 April live @ De Club, Mechelen

Younes Faltakh (vocals, guitar), Jonas Govaerts (guitar), Yorgos Tsakiridis (bass) and Jimmy Wouters (drums) return today with their fourth studio album "Cold Sun". After a ten-year hiatus, partly caused by Jonas Govaerts' hearing disorder, The Hickey Underworld reunite with 11 new tracks, a derailed album teaser in the form of a horror short movie ánd a club tour across Belgian and Dutch concert venues.

After previous singles; "Euromancer" (with guitars detuned to Sonic Youth and a breakbeat boosted from The Prodigy), "Keep" (finally a quiet song!) and "Constant Waves On A Rock" (another absurd song titel) they now present a whole new album called: "Cold Sun".

During the lockdown in 2023, the itch returned. Faltakh, drummer Jimmy Wouters, and bassist Yorgos Tsakiridis found their way back to the rehearsal room. Original member Jonas Govaerts also rejoined. The band recorded two standalone singles in Millionaire drummer Damien Vanderhasselt's studio — "Living On Big Foot" and "Wall On The Fly" — and reappeared on stage at several festivals that summer.

Not only was the desire back, but also the inspiration: soon after, The Hickey Underworld began recording their long-awaited fourth album. The sessions took place partly with Vanderhasselt and partly in Sweden, where producer Niek Meul has a studio. The band chose Cold Sun as the title — also the opening track of the album.

A couple of weeks ago, the band also shared a remarkable album teaser in the form of a horror short movie, watch the teaser here. From the beginning, the band paid great attention to their visual identity. The singles "Blonde Fire" and "Future Words" came with grotesque, surreal music videos — both shot by Nicolas Karakatsanis, the award-winning cinematographer behind Bullhead (Rundskop) and Cruella, and an early fan of The Hickey Underworld. The mix of horror, surreal humor and gore has been a typical visual style element of the band since their origin in 2009. Making one coherent visual universe.

For the cover of Cold Sun, The Hickey Underworld collaborated with Polish artist Aleksandra Waliszewska, who counts Nick Cave among her admirers. After listening to a few rough mixes — "It reminded me of the kind of music I used to listen to in my youth" — Waliszewska invited the band to select three of her surreal paintings. That, however, came with one condition: "I wouldn't want to accept cash; instead, I would make a list of brushes, or possibly paints, that you could buy for me in exchange."