박혜진 Park Hye Jin announces her highly-anticipated debut album Before I Die, on Ninja Tune. The album—entirely written, produced and performed by the South Korean-born and now LA-based the producer, rapper, singer, and DJ—follows the release of her hugely successful How can I EP and comes on the heels of a string of collaborations, working with the likes of Clams Casino & Take A Daytrip (“Y DONT U”), Blood Orange (“CALL ME (Freestyle)”) and Nosaj Thing (“CLOUDS”), plus a remix from Galcher Lustwerk (“Can you”).
Available now is lead single and opening track Lets Sing Lets Dance, a wistful dance track that places Hye Jin mantra-like vocals over piano keys and rumbling bass. Elsewhere on the record she continues to expand her sonic palette, drawing on a range of influences that take in electronic, rap/hip-hop and downtempo sensibilities to present the most complete vision yet of her sound.
Before I Die is set for release on 10th September on Ninja Tune, with Hye Jin also heading out on a run of North American tour dates later this year which includes a co-headline show at Elsewhere with Shlohmo, 1015 Folsom in San Francisco, III Points Festival in Miami and more.
Her debut album follows an incredible few years for the young artist, with a string of releases that have seen her garner strong support from the likes of Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Jezebel, FADER, DAZED, i-D, E!, Resident Advisor, Exclaim!, Hypebeast and many more. She was additionally featured in numerous Best Of 2020 lists from Billboard, The Guardian, NYLON and others, included in the NME 100 list of Essential emerging artists for 2021 & V Mag Generation V series, and highlighted by British GQ and Stereogum as One to Watch. The EP lead single, Like this—hailed by Mixmag as one of the “best tracks of 2020” and featured on the FIFA 2021 soundtrack—was supported across BBC Radio 1 and 6 Music (where it was playlisted for multiple weeks) with plays from Annie Mac, Clara Amfo, Lauren Laverne, Phil Taggart and many more. In the US the track was #1 of Top Electronic in the NACC Charts (North American College and Community Radio), and in the Top 200 overall, with further support from KEXP, KCRW, SiriusXMU and more.