JB Dunckel (fka Darkel) is the solo project of Jean-Benoît Dunckel from French duo AIR. He has announced the release of a new album called Carbon which will be out on June 24th. “Zombie Park” is the new excerpt. Listen below and read the full story.

 

During the uncertain first year of the pandemic, Dunckel’s thoughts turned to what he considers life’s absolutes: the insignificance of man in the face of outer space and our eternal material connection to the cosmos. The title Carbon references this crucial elemental relationship. “When you burn it, it doesn’t go away,” he says. “It’s full of strength – diamonds are crystallized carbon. Carbon is the thing that makes you solid. It’s the most important thing in our bodies and in our lives, but we’re hardly aware of it.” 
Dunckel’s “admiration for scientific things in general” is the progressive, futurist mindset that a brighter future is possible. That determination drives this album–his first in four years. It is a return, of sorts, to pop after a spell producing acclaimed soundtracks for projects like François Ozon’s film Summer of 85, for which Dunckel received a César nomination. Never one to fixate on the past, Dunckel is pushing forward with Carbon, combining his innate pop nous with a desire to experiment and match his compositional masters. 
Dunckel calls his new album a psychological test, one that reveals the listener’s own persuasions. “It’s all about creating waves that bring me happiness – or that reveal how I feel. It has to drag me into a dream or a sort of internal pleasure.” He wants it to make listeners feel “ready to travel in space,” he says. “Music brings energy and I want them to feel this energy.”