Beats & Pieces II

Following a string of celebrated releases on Cercle Records and Anjunadeep, and a widely praised BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix, London-based producer Catching Flies returns with Beats & Pieces II - a dynamic, dancefloor-focused sibling to his previous mixtape, Beats & Pieces. Described as its 'uptempo sister,' the new project marks a confident shift in energy, while maintaining the organic textures and emotive detail that have made his sound so distinctive. George King, aka Catching Flies, has garnered widespread support over the years, from Diplo, Bonobo, and Keinemusik to Jungle, Nils Frahm, and Loyle Carner. King has collaborated with and been remixed by some of electronic music's most influential names, including Sofia Kourtesis, Hot Chip, Actress, DJ Boring, and DJ Seinfeld. To celebrate the forthcoming release, Catching Flies embarks on a headline European tour this October and November, featuring a special one-off live show with a string quartet at London's EartH Theatre. He will also perform internationally, with dates scheduled in Mexico, Fiji, and the iconic Scorpios in Mykonos.

Beats & Pieces II is fronted by the soaring single 'On A Clear Day, You Can See Forever', a collaboration with Parra for Cuva. Fresh off hitting 1 billion global streams and playing festivals like Burning Man and Sziget, Parra For Cuva brings a lush, melodic warmth to the track that sets the tone for the project. On 'Hummingbird', the album's opening track, King recalls writing in Baja California during an artist residency: 'Every morning I'd have breakfast on the terrace with all sorts of crazy colourful birds flying around, then head to the studio in the basement. To me, the track sounds like the view I woke up to every morning. I really wanted to preserve the looseness and organic texture of the original demo. There's always a temptation to overwork things, but I tried to resist that.' Other tracks are similarly rooted in time and place: 'Marseille' was started (and mostly finished) at the table of a Tunisian restaurant in the French port city that inspired its name. '1991' is a nod to King's birth year, drawing inspiration from unexpected sources like JoJo's 'Leave (Get Out)' and OPM's 'Heaven Is a Halfpipe.' Reflecting on the track, King says with a smile: 'I'm really into that cheesy nostalgia thing at the moment - the early 2000s were a golden era for pop music, I think. I love the sound of 'fake' harps and guitars. I guess they just remind me of being a teenager.' 'Care 4 U', inspired by Cristobal Tapia de Veer's soundtrack for The White Lotus, was written for Catching Flies' live performance at Cercle Odyssey in Paris – a sold-out immersive show for 5,000 people. On 'WORRY,' King teams up with long-time friend and collaborator Louis Greenwood, and samples 'Soon' by Wanderland. King reflects: 'Louis played me the original, and I was stopped in my tracks. It's so intimate and vulnerable… I almost feel like I committed crimes against music by touching it!' Despite his concerns, WORRY. has been a firm DJ favourite, with spins and support coming in from the likes of Solomun and MJ Cole.

In contrast to the long gaps between earlier releases like Silver Linings and Tides, Beats & Pieces II is part of a new, more immediate creative cycle for Catching Flies: 'I'm seeing making music as a sketchbook of whatever time I'm living through. No sitting on things for years - I just want to finish something and release it. It's exciting again. It's freeing.' Beats & Pieces II opens a new chapter - one rooted in movement, spontaneity, and emotional resonance. The result is a compelling, genre-fluid collection of tracks that feel as personal as they are danceable.