It’s been more than three years since M83 dropped their last ambient album, DSVII, and almost six since the French electronic music group played in concert. That’s why multi-instrumentalist Anthony Gonzalez saying he wants his project’s forthcoming record, Fantasy, to be “very impactful” live is so encouraging. M83 surprise-released Chapter 1, consisting of six songs, in early February, and true to Gonzalez’s word, they include more guitars, synths, and vocals. The cinematic “Water Deep” sets the tone for the epic adventure you’re about to embark on, further underscored by the otherworldly music video for “Oceans Niagara,” which features a five-eyed being at a gelatinous control panel watching three friends traverse space. Then there are tracks such as “Earth to Sea,” with its gripping lyrics, and “Radar, Far, Gone,” with its acoustics that feel perhaps more intimate than anything Gonzalez has given us previously. Fantasy comes out March 17, a month before M83 arrive in D.C. M83 play at 8 p.m. on April 22 at the Anthem. theanthemdc.com. $45–$75.
M83
