Paris-based composer/producer/multi-instrumentalist, Perturbator (aka James Kent), has just released the brand new single, “The Swimming Pool.” This marks the third preview of his upcoming album, Age of Aquarius, which is due to land on October 10th, via Nuclear Blast Records. Check out the new track and find out more below.
Photo credit: Andy Julia
Stream “The Swimming Pool” here: https://perturbator.bfan.link/the-swimming-pool
Pre-order Age of Aquarius here: https://perturbator.bfan.link/age-of-aquarius
“The Swimming Pool” is a serene instrumental piano ballad that evokes video game music, fittingly as Perturbator first broke through via the soundtracks to the beloved Miami Hotline shooter games in 2012 and 2015. The track’s gorgeous, moonlit ambiance is vaguely surreal, hinting at a dream that inspired the composition. ““The Swimming Pool” is a little moment of respite in an otherwise mostly aggressive album,” Kent explains. “It’s simple, minimalist, and intimate. Inspired by a dream I had years ago in which I found myself stuck in a huge hotel, searching ever so unsuccessfully for the swimming pool.”
“The Swimming Pool” follows album singles “Apocalypse Now,” featuring lead vocals by Norwegian metal titan Kristoffer Rygg (Ulver), and “The Art of War.” Later this year, Perturbator will embark on a headlining tour of the UK and Europe—which sees him playing his biggest venues to date—including London, UK’s 02 Forum Kentish Town and two nights at Paris’ La Bataclan; a full itinerary is listed below and tickets are on-sale here: https://perturbator.com/
On Age of Aquarius, Perturbator offers up a more propulsive spin on his moody early work, showcasing his most confident, plainly beautiful, and thematically refined music to date. Where his previous album, 2021’s Lustful Sacraments, was about bad habits and addiction, his sixth LP–mastered by Jaime Gomez Arellano (Ghost, Opeth) and also featuring Alcest, Author & Punisher and Greta Link–explores how individualism, conflict, and war are interrelated and dominant societal forces. Both brutal and sublime, Age of Aquarius feels like the musical equivalent of a scream into the existential void.
Kent intentionally chooses very evocative song titles since most of his tracks lack lyrics and primarily convey mood through instrumentals. “I like to think of every album as a movie,” he says. “The tracks are all scenes from that one big movie.” The most brutal scene, then, is “The Art of War,” which ranks among Kent’s hardest-hitting songs; its vivid, forceful production attests to the two and a half years he spent tirelessly mastering and elevating his signature style (he wrote, recorded, performed, produced, and mixed the record himself, minus the guest vocals and lyrics). The track embodies the very sound of going into battle, and it could well be the album’s thesis. “It’s more of war as an idea than a concrete event,” Kent says about the LP’s subject matter. It’s no surprise his distinct style of electronic body music (EBM)–built on a DNA of post-punk, goth, and techno influences–has widely appealed to fans of new wave, industrial, and metal alike (his recent collaborators and tourmates HEALTH are an apt comparison). We might always be in conflict as a species–with others and ourselves–but with Age of Aquarius, Kent provides its fantastic score.
Perturbator Fall 2025 Tour Dates:
11/05 – Nantes, FR – Stereolux
11/06 – Lille, FR – Aeronef
11/07 – London, UK – O2 Forum Kentish Town
11/08 – Manchester, UK – Damnation Festival
11/11 – Vienna, AT – Arena
11/12 – Budapest, HU – Dürer Kert
11/13 – Prague, CZ – SaSaZu
11/14 – Berlin, DE – Huxleys
11/17 – Vilnius, LT – Loftas
11/19 – Helsinki, FI – Kulttuuritalo
11/21 – Stockholm, SE – Fallan
11/22 – Copenhagen, DK – The Grey Hall
11/23 – Oslo, NO – Rockefeller
11/25 – Hamburg, DE – Gruenspan
11/26 – Nijmegen, NL – Doornroosje
11/27 – Brussels, BE – Ancienne Belgique
11/28 – Cologne, GE – Live Music Hall
11/29 – Meisenthal, FR – La Boite Noire
12/01 – Munich, GE – Muffthalle
12/02 – Ljubljana, SO – Kino Siksa
12/03 – Milan, IT – Live Club
12/04 – Lausanne, CH – Les Docks
12/05 – Paris, FR – Le Bataclan
12/06 – Paris, FR – Le Bataclan
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