Bright Light Bright Light & Grammy-Nominated Mykal Kilgore Deliver Euphoric Anthem ‘Heartslap’, Out Now

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Bright Light Bright Light unleashes his electrifying new single, a collaboration with GRAMMY-nominated sensation Mykal Kilgore. “Heartslap,” is a pulsating anthem, serving a euphoric blend of high-energy beats, hands-aloft melodies, and nostalgic nods to the infectious rhythms of 90s house music. Adding an extra layer of club-ready magic, the song arrives with a huge Dave Audé remix. The single drops ahead of the forthcoming album 'Enjoy Youth', out May 17.

“Heartslap’ is one of several tracks to come from the new album featuring collaborations with other artists, and Mykal Kilgore was one of Bright Light Bright Light’s dream partnerships. Fellow NYC based Mykal made history at the 63rd annual GRAMMY awards as the first openly gay artist to receive a nomination in the ‘Best Traditional R&B Performance’ category for his single “Let Me Go”.

“Heartslap” was co-written and produced by Jon Shave (Charli XCX, Miley Cyrus, Girls Aloud, Zayn). Speaking about the song, Bright Light Bright Light said: “Mykal is one of the best vocalists I've ever heard, and Jon is one of the best pop writers with an encyclopedic knowledge of the exact type of music I love, so for me this is an absolute dream collaboration. It was the only in-person co-writing session of the album too, getting Mykal in to add some parts while we did his vocal, and the rap part was his idea, which is such a ridiculous, joyful moment on the track. It's the last song I had finished for 'Enjoy Youth' and I think it was peak energy, peak joy, and peak satisfaction for me, so I really hope people love hearing it as much as I loved making it.”

Mykal Kilgore said: “I love working with Bright Light Bright Light. He’s like a musical encyclopedia, so that makes it so much fun to talk about references and concepts with him. As soon as he sent the track over I got excited and then when he asked me to add some writing I was over the moon. Whenever we collaborate it is a blast, because we just click! Heartslap has that very specific 80s optimism with a 90s naughtiness and a 2000s swagger.”

The album ‘Enjoy Youth’ features collaborations with dance legend Ultra Naté, Sam Harper (voice of Riton 'Friday Night'), Berri (known for her huge 90s hit ‘Sunshine After The Rain’) and Beth Hirsch (who features on Air’s classic album ‘Moon Safari’). Packed full of glittering electropop, 90s house and big dollops of HiNRG synthpop, it's an album that acknowledges our dystopian times and offers up an escapist alternative. “Things are pretty shit at the moment and there are times where I really feel like magic has been taken out of the world,” he says. “I wanted to remind myself that life is pretty special and just focus on the joy we do have.”

Bright Light Bright Light is artist, producer, composer and DJ, Rod Thomas, born in Wales, and based in NYC. He is best known for being the first - and to date, only - unsigned artist to perform on Graham Norton’s BBC One TV show, appearing with Sir Elton John as his special guest vocalist, and opening for Cher on her world tour. His colourful and infectious pop music has won A-list collaborations, major radio and TV support, mainstream press coverage and chart success: major label-level success achieved with an independent, organic approach.

His music work and DJ sets reference his biggest pop-culture loves and influences, but always forward-thinking, Rod has constantly evolved through his three critically-acclaimed albums. Always working hard to further not only his own success, but the success of his contemporaries, he is a frequent charity fundraiser, local talent champion, and works as ambassador for LocalGiving, and patron of Music Venue Trust. Rod’s last album ‘Fun City’ hit number 1 on the UK dance chart in 2020 and earlier this year, he soundtracked the recent documentary, All Man: The International Male Story.

Over the years Rod's music has been heralded by the likes of Billboard, Rolling Stone, Esquire, Paper Magazine, USA Today, The Line of Best Fit, The Guardian and more. He cites the music of Kylie Minogue, Girls Aloud, the Scissor Sisters, Grace Jones and Goldfrapp as major inspirations, as well as The Legend of Zelda & classic Nintendo, horror films (his stage name is a reference to a quote from Gremlins and he has a special love of the Giallo movement) and his beloved cat Sunny.

Bright Light Bright Light will celebrate the release of ‘Enjoy Youth’ with a special performance at Brooklyn’s C’mon Everybody on May 22.