José González live in der Columbiahalle ✨

In the organizer's words:

JOSÉ GONZÁLEZ ANNOUNCES THE RELEASE OF HIS FIRST NEW ALBUM SINCE 2021. "AGAINST THE DYING OF THE LIGHT"
WILL BE RELEASED ON 27.03.2026 VIA CITY SLANG.

NEW SINGLE "AGAINST THE DYING OF THE LIGHT"

José González has today announced the release of his highly anticipated fifth solo studio album. His first album in more than four years, "Against The Dying Of The Light" will be released on March 27, 2026 via City Slang. Along with the announcement, he has released a video for the title track "Against The Dying Of The Light".

He says of the single: "It's a song reflecting on humanity in 2025; about accepting who we are and what led us here, since the past can't be changed. Then about refocusing our attention on the challenges ahead, like pervert incentives and algorithms that aren't in line with human flourishing.

And even though we have enormous opportunities with new technology that can eventually design and copy itself, we don't have to build it right away if it has the potential to make us obsolete. We can rebel against these replicators, rebel against the dying of the light."

Since his last album "Local Valley", a dramatic darkening of the world has taken place, which José Gonzaléz confronts with an unvarnished truth in his songwriting, which, more than ever before, is carried by a haunting, often frustrated and even angry expression.

His focus is on anxieties revolving around technology, but also on themes such as resistance to exclusionary ideologies and the need to recognize ways of thinking that he calls "unhelpful thinking".

His album draws equally on his personal convictions and artistic decisions.

He explains: "Against the Dying of the Light is a reflection on how we create hurdles to human flourishing by clinging stubbornly to dogmatic ideologies where people follow dudes who pretend to know shit they don't know.

These are songs about how we can navigate humanity towards flourishing on an individual and a collective level. They can be listened to just for the sounds, harmonies, and rhythms but the lyrics are meant to inspire people to engage and take action by collaborating to solve collective problems."

It is well known that José González played in a hardcore band for much of his youth, but it is less well known that he also sang in a choir. He remembers: "It was really fun. Not cool at all, but really fun. I learned the different scales and also a bit of vocal technique. It speaks to something deeply human - to stand together as 20 people, just singing - and now that I'm older I feel it's time to embrace the universal aspects".
Today, despite being an atheist, he enjoys watching his partner sing and perform with a local indie church choir.

And this, his new album, could also be a powerful rallying point for a universal choir.

Josés González has had an impressive career over the years. With four solo albums in 23 years, he has sold a total of over 1 million records, collected well over a billion streams, achieved platinum status in the UK, Australia and New Zealand and was awarded the Swedish Grammy as "Singer/Songwriter of the Year 2021" for his last album "Local Valley". In 2024, he was inducted into the Swedish Music Hall of Fame.