GRAMMY-nominated producer and composer Danny L Harle has today released his highly anticipated debut album, Cerulean, via XL Recordings. While Harle previously released the immersive Harlecore project in 2021, he considers this record his most definitive artistic statement. "This is my debut album," Harle says. "It really is the big one."
The album is a sprawling sonic voyage that fuses speaker-blowing bass and trance synths with classical harmonies and tactile sound design. Harle describes the project as a pursuit of "melancholic euphoria," balancing megalophobic scale with a deeply human core. The record draws from diverse influences, ranging from Renaissance composers like Thomas Tallis to the Dark Souls video game series.
To celebrate the launch, Harle premiered the arena-ready highlight "Two Hearts" as BBC Radio 1’s Hottest Record. The track features global superstar Dua Lipa, continuing a creative partnership formed during the sessions for her 2024 album Radical Optimism. Lipa was recently revealed as the final collaborator on a roster that includes Caroline Polachek, PinkPantheress, and Clairo.
Accompanying the release is a 32-minute audiovisual film streaming exclusively via NTS. Directed by Lilian Hardouineau, the film reimagines the album as a continuous live performance set within a vast, apocalyptic maritime world. The production was shot on the Bull Sand Fort, an abandoned sea structure in the Humber estuary, lending the visuals an uncanny sense of isolation and ruin.
Hardouineau’s visual language pulls from sci-fi touchstones like Tarkovsky’s Stalker, creating a dreamlike atmosphere. "We imagined the DJ set almost like the last one before the end of the world," the director explains. This tension between despair and vitality perfectly mirrors the music’s emotional arc.
Cerulean also features previously released singles "Starlight" and "Azimuth," alongside contributions from Harle's own daughters. The album is available to stream now, with the accompanying film offering a monumental look at Harle's unique creative universe.
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