Credit: Alysse GafkjenThe Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach has a new band called The Arcs, but don't call it a solo project. While the last time Auerbach went outside The Black Keys to record something new with 2009's Keep it Hid, he released it under his own name, he says The Arcs' debut album, Yours, Dreamily, was a group affair.
"It just felt wrong to have it under my own name," Auerbach tells NME. "It wasn't just me that made it special."
In addition to Auerbach, The Arcs are made up of Leon Michels, Richard Swift and Nick Movshon -- all of whom have toured with The Black Keys -- plus drummer Homer Steinweiss. Yours, Dreamily also features Mariachi Flor de Toloache, an all-female mariachi band, who Auerbach had originally recruited for only one song.
"They did their part and they were amazing," Auerbach recalls. "Then we said 'Hey, can you guys sing, because we've got some background vocals we need done?' And they said 'Yeah, we can sing.' It was f**king so great that I put them on another song and then I put them on another song and then they ended up singing the lead on another song, called 'Chains of Love.'"
Yours, Dreamily will be released on September 4.
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