Djo shares new “companion piece” album to ‘The Crux’ with 12 new songs

Djo has released 12 new songs as part of a “companion piece” album to his recent album ‘The Crux’.

Djo, the musical alias of Stranger Things actor Joe Keery, has been dropping new singles across the week ‘Carry The Name’ on Monday, ‘It’s Over’ on Tuesday and ‘Awake’ on Wednesday (September 8-10). They all feature on the surprise new album, ‘The Crux Deluxe’, which comprises songs that were written, recorded and produced by Keery and his collaborator Adam Thein at the same time as they were working on ‘The Crux’.

The new songs were completed this summer, just a few months after ‘The Crux’ was released in April, and both records are the same length.

To coincide with the release of ‘The Crux Deluxe’, Djo has released a visualiser for the song ‘Mr Mountebank’ – check it out below.

NME caught up with Djo earlier this year to discuss the album. “Having this kind of boiling throughout the whole thing… It’s been nice to have something else to work on,” he said of balancing music career with Stranger Things. “What I did was an extremely unique experience, even in the acting world. People don’t work on things for that long. Can you imagine how sad and weird I’d feel if I was just at home doing nothing? That would be bad for me.”

Djo toured the album earlier this year and played at Glastonbury while he was in the UK. In a review of his set, NME wrote: “There was a moment in Djo’s set where he – aka Joe Keery – scooched off to the side of the stage and took a seat to marvel at drummer Wesley Toledo’s impressive solo. The joy and awe on his face was genuine, and as the improvised rhythms got more complicated, Keery’s jaw dropped and he raised the can he was sipping from to the crowd in wonder.

“It’s this kind of passion and enthusiasm for music that coursed through the whole of Djo’s set, and made it a delight to watch. By the time the final one-two of ‘Delete Ya’ and ‘End Of Beginning’ rolled around – with both given a huge reception – you were firmly on Stranger Things star Keery and his band’s side.”

Meanwhile, he has also recently appeared in the video for Tame Impala‘s new single ‘Loser’, in which he is seen having a row with a woman before sitting dejectedly outside a convenience store and then briefly morphs into Kevin Parker.