The Black Keys Say “Hey!” To All The Beautiful People

The Black Keys launch the new year to the delight of fans worldwide by releasing their new single “Beautiful People (Stay High)”. This release coincides with the announcement of their twelfth studio album, Ohio Players, scheduled for release on April 5th via Nonesuch/Warner Records.

Written by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney with longtime friends Dan “The Automator” Nakamura and Beck, the celebratory, joyful “Beautiful People (Stay High)” is one of several songs on the album that feature collaborations between the band and various additional friends and colleagues, including Noel Gallagher (formerly of Oasis), Beck, Greg Kurstin, and others.

Speaking on the collaborative nature of the album, Carney shares, “We had this epiphany: ‘We can call our friends to help us make music.’ It’s funny because we both write songs with other people—Dan all the time [as a solo artist and producer], me when I’m producing a record. That’s what we do.”

Auerbach adds, “No matter who we work with, it never feels like we’re sacrificing who we are. It only feels like it adds some special flavor. We just expanded that palette with people we wanted to work with. We were there to support them and their ideas, to do whatever we could to see that moment flourish. But when it came time to finish the album, it was just Pat and me. We’d never worked harder to make a record,” he continues. “It’s never taken us this long to make an album. We took our time and did it right.”

“What we wanted to accomplish with this record was make something that was fun,” Carney says. “And something that most bands 20 years into their career don’t make, which is an approachable, fun record that is also cool.”

Ohio Players is due for release April 5th and can be pre-ordered here.