Twenty One Pilots are making their triumphant return with their first new album in three years, Scaled And Icy, which is set to drop on May 21 via Fueled By Ramen.
In a new interview, tøp singer Tyler Joseph spoke about the band's forthcoming record and planned release day live stream, getting back on the road, and the message of encouragement behind their new single "Shy Away" released on April 7.
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Speaking with Hanuman Welch of Apple Music's ALT CTRL Joseph admits, "thematically and lyrically... as our fans become familiar with my style and my angles and my go-to, you'll be able to pick up some older tricks," on the new album. "I think on 'TRENCH,' our last record, I was really, really trying to extend myself... On this record, I tried to take everything that I had learned and go back to what I loved about music and operate under a little less fear and a little more boldness."
Joseph is excited to share the duo's brand new single, "Shy Away," with fans as it represents the first time he and drummer Josh Dun were the "only two hands" involved in the recording process. "The track is exciting for a lot of reasons. For me, I love the structure of it, where it's a continual and gradual ramp all the way to you don't necessarily end up where you started. I'm excited about it for other reasons, too," he says.
Joseph explained, saying their new single "is one of the first songs where I produced the whole track out entirely myself, wrote it and produced it here in the studio I'm sitting in now. Then I sent it over to Josh and he recorded and tracked drums to it by himself. It was literally only two hands on this record, other than on the mix side, are Josh and I. There's a real pride to this track for us as a band. I think that it's important for people who operate in a band format to have songs that all parties involved in that band, in that partnership are excited about. And this song definitely is that for us, because of how collaborative it was on the production end."
Lyrically, Tyler says he kept his younger siblings in mind while writing the track, after coming to the realization that "the only thing tougher than figuring out what your purpose is in this life is watching someone that you love trying to figure it out for themselves... The track is really meant as a prodding forward, it's an encouragement to not be afraid to take that step into that direction of who you're ultimately going to be.
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"When you start gathering enough experiences in your life, you start recognizing someone going through something that you once went through," Joseph says about his intent. "Without coming across as patronizing, or talking down to, or belittling, if the time is right and you've built the right rapport with that person, you really can show them, 'Hey, this is some things that helped me. Here are some tools that helped me get through something that seems like on the outside to me, that you might be going through something that I've figured out in a sense already.' It's a delicate exchange for sure... You need to know each other on an intimate level. And family is one of those things for me. So, this song specifically is directed towards some people that I really love."
Scaled and Icy is available for pre-order now in a number of different formats, including a special box set edition.
The band has also announced their very first global livestream event to coincide with the release of their new album. Dubbed the Twenty One Pilots - Livestream Experience, the special broadcast is scheduled for a worldwide audience on release day, Friday, May 21 at 8PM ET.
"I've told my team like, 'Yes, we want to try to capture some of those exciting, dramatic moments that we've created on our live show," he says about the audacious plan. "But at the same time, we have to realize this is a new format. We got to be smart here." Tickets for the sure-to-be-mesmerizing experience featuring new music and fan-favorites are on sale today via live.twentyonepilots.com.
For members of the Skeleton Clique looking to get back in the same room with Tyler, Josh, and thousands of screaming fans, there's still some waiting left to be done. Just like you, Joseph says he's digesting all of the conflicting pandemic and vaccination information, with hopes of getting back to normal as soon as possible. "Man, I've been back and forth this whole time," he says. "I'm a bit of a dramatic person, which is probably why I write songs, but I go from thinking 'There'll never be another show ever again,' to, 'Hey, it looks like we'll be playing shows soon.' The truth is having talked to the top of the top guys about what they know, they don't know anything more than we do. And that's crazy to realize that they are taking it in stride day by day as well."
WATCH MORE: Twenty One Pilots Answer Fan Questions on IG Live
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