The euphoria-inducing psychedelic haze of RIO KOSTA has been making waves since the duo dropped their first tracks, ‘Ancients’ and ‘It’s Starting’, earlier this year. Now they are ready to share their full creative vision with the release of their debut album ‘Unicorn’ on July 18^th which they launch with the title track and new single. LISTEN HERE + PRE-ORDER LP HERE.

Since the release of ‘Ancients’ and ‘It’s Starting’,  an array of tastemakers fell under their hypnotic spell, garnering over 500k Spotify streams in its first month, and inducing support from Matt Wilkinson at Apple Music, triple j, Double J, RTÉ, The Line of Best Fit, The Independent, 1883 Magazine and more.

A musician can spend a lifetime without discovering that one person that truly unlocks their talents. Mike Del Rio and Kosta Galanopoulos first met while soundchecking at a festival and were unusually intrigued by each other. And when they finally arranged a session together, their spark ignited something special, generating the song ‘Unicorn’, which in turn led to the multi-instrumentalists forming RIO KOSTA and then losing themselves within the joy of creating what would become their debut album. The title is representative of the once-in-a-lifetime, lightning-in-jar jolt that reshaped the future of both artists.

Title track and single, ‘Unicorn’ simmers with irrepressible optimism. Its lyrics are lovelorn, but the sound is pure joy: soothing sublime grooves, a blissfully plaintive piano motif; and Kosta’s gloriously soaring falsetto. And by the time Mike layers his vocal harmonies onto Kosta’s lead during the song’s finale, you can channel the power of the connection they made that day.

Mike says, “What’s on the recording is the actual first time we ever played in the room together. The form and concept came very quickly, and I was originally singing lead and working on lyrics inspired by Kosta’s break-up at the time.We had no reference for what music we were going to make when we started, so it was questionable if this would be included. It took us figuring out what Rio Kosta was and writing everything else to come back to It. The end had to show us the beginning. It felt necessary to title the album “Unicorn” not for the sentiment of the song itself, but the way in which it was made and the purity of the fun we were having together creatively.We were going to rework it, but wanted to honour the spirit of that first session, and to avoid disturbing natural events. It was clear that Kosta was meant to sing this song, it’s my favourite vocal performance of his and he sounds magical.”

RIO KOSTA’s first three tracks guide us into an album populated with much more to discover. Citing influences such as Jorge Ben, Idris Muhammed, War, Ebo Taylor, Crosby, Stills & Nash and The Beatles, it’s a record in which elements of psychedelia, funk, old school R&B, disco and an undercurrent of Americana coalesce into one. The atmosphere is constant: one that finds the unity between the captivating spaciousness of Khruangbin and echoing a Woodstock ‘69 set that was until now lost to history. The majority of the album was recorded at Mike’s studio and home, Hotel Havana. It’s a place where if the walls could talk, you’d think they were lying. It had previously been the home of hit ‘50s crooner turned bit-part ‘80s actor Dick Caruso, who lived in its garish Jimmy Buffet-meets-Liberace decor, and welcomed guests such as Joni Mitchell and Herbie Hancock.

Rio Kosta will celebrate the release of the album by playing two special launch shows at Zebulon in Los Angeles (July 16th) and Zey Zey in Miami (July 18th). Tickets for the shows are available HERE.