Danny L Harles album Cerulean marks his first full-length release on XL Recordings and his most definitive artistic statement to date. Following 2021s immersive Harlecore project, Harle considers Cerulean his true debut. This is my debut albumIt really is the big one.
Cerulean is a voyage into vast, alien sonic landscapes where speaker-blowing bass and euphoric trance synths meet intricate textures, from tactile sound design to field recordings of waves. It embodies Harles pursuit of melancholic euphoria – a blend of megalophobic majesty and raw humanity – inspired by Andrei Tarkovskys Stalker, existing on the threshold between dreams and reality.
Seeking the best melodies sung by the best voices, Harle enlisted an exceptional cast of collaborators, including Caroline Polachek, Clairo, Julia Michaels, PinkPantheress, Oklou, and MNEK, alongside newer voices like kachaeven his own daughters. Cerulean balances dancefloor power with emotional resonance to brilliant effect. Harles wide-ranging influences – from hedonistic rave to the haunting Dark Souls video game series, Philip Glasss Einstein on the Beach, and Renaissance composers John Dowland, Thomas Tallis, and William Byrd – underpin the albums dazzling, genre (and centuries)-spanning focus.
Born in North London, Harles early exposure to avant-garde concerts and chart pop shaped his singular musical lens. Emerging from the visionary PC Music collective with 2013s Broken Flowers, he became one of pops most adventurous producers, collaborating with Charli XCX, Carly Rae Jepsen,& co-executive producing Polacheks acclaimed Pang, his credits span Oklou, FKA twigs, Shygirl, and Dua Lipas Radical Optimism, earning him a GRAMMY nomination for Desire, I Want to Turn Into You.

Fusing rave maximalism, classical composition, and emotional depth, Cerulean is the latest evolution of Harles artistic journey, distilling his lifelong fascination with beauty, wonder, and the unknown. I just have this mad desire to make my own favourite music, he says. Thats all Ive ever wanted to do.

To celebrate news of the album, Harle today releases Cerulean’s third single Crystallise My Tears – a collaboration with Oklou and MNEK. It follows the success of previous acclaimed singles Starlight (ft Pinkpantheress) and Azimuth (ft. Caroline Polacheck). Speaking about the collaboration, Harle says:

I already knew Oklou from our frequent collaboration, I simply sent the song over to her, she nailed the vocal and sent it back. We didnt have to share many words as we love very similar things about music. She has a particular ability to convey emotion through tone, and I really feel it in this one, there is a surreal alien beauty to her delivery.

I knew Uzo (MNEK) as well, I am honoured to have the king of UK house grace the most house-adjacent track on my album with such a soaring and emotional vocal.

Format / LP
Released / 02/13/2026
Catalogue / BQTX-1585A
Barcode / 191404158500
Artist /Danny L Harle
Label /XL Recordings
Genre /Electronic