Multi-talented songsmith, record producer, filmmaker, writer and advocate, Mobley has released his new single, “stay volk” alongside a music video. The song also arrives with the announcement of Mobley’s upcoming EP, Cry Havoc! out September 23rd via Last Gang Records. The EP is available for pre-order HERE.
The official video for “stay volk” was directed, produced and edited by Mobley himself, and finds the artist playing a character whose head has been replaced by an actual, functioning rabbit-ear television. Gracefully leaping and gliding across the floor of a rundown warehouse, his face warps and glitches on the TV screen, hinting at the sci-fi direction the Cry Havoc! EP will take.
Always making infectious art rock with a deeper meaning, “stay volk” is a play on “stay woke” and the idea of herrenvolk democracy: a system of colonial government in which only a specific ethnic group participates in government, while other groups are disenfranchised. Mobley drew inspiration from the 2017 Charlottesville riots, and the video is a metaphor, exploring the tension between one’s authentic self and the performance that is often required by society.
“For the video, I wanted to explore the lyrical themes while also keeping sight of how fun and danceable the music is,” said Mobley. “In crafting the choreography and the visuals, I wanted to merge mid-century aesthetics (inspired by Cab Calloway and Golden-age movie musicals) with a sci-fi, post-apocalyptic setting. All of it ties back into the larger story I’m telling with my forthcoming EP.”
This upcoming EP is the latest project in a career that has already spanned multiple artistic mediums. Recently , Mobley composed the theme music for Webby and Anthem Award-winning SiriusXM & Smithsonian podcast All Music Is Black Music, hosted by Selema Masekela and featuring guests Kelly Rowland, Ne-Yo, St. Vincent, and many more. On June 30, Mobley performed his original score at the first-ever live taping of the podcast at The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, during the SiriusXM and NMAAHC event honoring Black Music Appreciation Month. Other special guests included 2022 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees and GRAMMY® Award winning producers and songwriters Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.
Mobley is set to join The Front Bottoms and The Joy Formidable on tour this fall. The series of dates kicks off September 14 in New York, and fans can catch his mesmerizing one-man-show in Denver, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Baltimore and more until late October. The artist has also announced a special hometown EP release show in Austin on November 5. Tickets and bundles are available now HERE.
FALL 2022 TOUR DATES
with The Front Bottoms & The Joy Formidable
September 14 – Wantagh, New York – Mulcahy’s
September 15 – Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania -Sherman Theater
September 16 – Columbus, Ohio – Kemba Live
September 18 – Grand Rapids, Michigan – 20 Monroe
September 20 – Fort Wayne, Indiana – Piere’s
September 21 – Chattanooga, Tennessee – The Signal
September 22 – Little Rock, Arkansas – The Hall
September 23 – Tulsa, Oklahoma – Cain’s Ballroom
September 25 – Boulder, Colorado – Boulder Theater
September 26 – Denver, Colorado – Summit Music Hall
September 27 – Salt Lake City, Utah – Union Event Center
September 28 – Boise, Idaho – Knitting Factory
September 30 – Spokane, Washington – Knitting Factory
October 1 – Tacoma, Washington – Temple Theater
October 3 – Reno, Nevada – Cargo
October 4 – Santa Cruz, California – Catalyst
October 6 – Los Angeles, California – Hollywood Forever Cemetery
October 7 – Riverside, California – Riverside Music Hall
October 9 – Ventura, California – Majestic Theater
October 11 – Tucson, Arizona – Rialto
October 12 – Albuquerque, New Mexico – El Rey Theater
October 14 – San Antonio, TX – Aztec Theater
October 17 – New Orleans, Louisiana – HOB NOLA
October 18 – Birmingham, Alabama – Iron City
October 19 – Charlotte, North Carolina – Fillmore
October 20 – Baltimore, Maryland – Ram’s Head Live
November 5 – Austin, TX – 3Ten @ ACL Live