Quelle Chris has just announced that he’s releasing a new album next month, the follow-up to last year’s Guns. It’s called Innocent Country 2, a quasi-sequel to his 2015 album of the same name, and it’s another collaboration with the producer Chris Keys. The album has guest features from Earl Sweatshirt, Tune-Yards’ Merrill Garbus, billy woods, Homeboy Sandman, comedian Josh Gondelman, and more.

It was preceded by the single “Sudden Death” in January, and today he’s sharing another new track from it, the lush and insular “Living Happy,” which features Joseph Chilliams, from Chicago, and Cavalier, from New Orleans.

Here’s what Quelle Chris said about the album in a statement (via Pitchfork):

Innocent Country Season 2, the second installment of the Innocent Country series (by producer/instrumentalist Chris Keys and I) and the fourth in the 2Dirt4TV series, deals with finding peace within the pain expressed in Innocent Country 1. Where IC1 explored isolation IC2 embraces community. The overtones of pessimism in IC1 have been replaced with hope. This “country,” presented as both the individual and the whole, has hands stained in blood. From action and inaction. IC2 is not only about recognizing what makes us who we are, good and evil, but about acknowledging, growing, healing, helping, communicating, living, learning (and more verbs than I can attempt to write in a quote) together. So many human truths that should bring us together have been turned into tools to separate us. We (Chris and I) are not here to solve the world’s problems. We’re not here to play “woke” or conscience or some other label that distracts from the music/message. We are simply humans with hearts, eyes, ears and voices. We only wish to share a few spells of positivity that, if received, may provide a sword, a shield and a soundtrack for light in the often bleak timeline that is the now.

Listen to “Living Happy” and “Sudden Death” below.

TRACKLIST:
01 “INTRO / ReCAP”
02 “OUTRO/Honest” (Feat. Marcella Arguela)
03 “LIVING HAPPY” (Feat. Joseph Chilliams & Cavalier)
04 “SACRED SAFE” (Feat. Merrill Garbus, Cavalier & Homeboy Sandman)
05 “HORIZON”
06 “MOMENTS” (Feat. Josh Gondelman)
07 “Bottle Black Power BUY THE BUSINESS”
08 “GREASE FROM THE ELBOWS” (Feat. Pink Siifu & billy woods)
09 “BLACK TWITTER” (Feat. MosEL & Nelson Bandela)
10 “RITUAL” (Feat. Dr Tennille)
11 “SUDDEN DEATH”
12 “MAKE IT BETTER” (Feat. Starr Busby)
13 “GRAPHIC BLEED OUTS” (Feat. Merrill Garbus & Melanie St. Charles)
14 “MIRAGE” (Feat. Earl Sweatshirt, Denmark Vessey, Merrill Garbus & Big Sen)
15 “WHEN YOU FALL…” (Feat. Nappy Nina, Fresh Daily & 5ILL)
16 “FIFOALSA / CREDITS”

Innocent Country 2 is out 4/24 via Mello Music Group. Pre-order it here.