Hot Chip “A Long Way From Kansas”: New Album, “Random Violence,” Release Date and Everything We Know
Hot Chip have announced their ninth studio album, A Long Way From Kansas, due January 8, 2027 via Domino Records. The announcement, made October 19, is accompanied by the first single, “Random Violence,” a tribute to the late Glasgow DJ, promoter and Optimo figure Keith McIvor, better known as JD Twitch. Domino’s announcement also confirms guest appearances from Beth Ditto and Eddie Chacon, plus Felix Martin’s first vocal contribution to a Hot Chip record.
The single gives the album announcement a particular connection to Glasgow’s club culture rather than functioning solely as a conventional advance track. In Joe Goddard’s account, McIvor was an important presence in the band’s story: Goddard recalled first meeting him at Sub Club around two decades ago and said McIvor inspired the song’s lyrics.
“Random Violence” honors JD Twitch and the Optimo connection
“Random Violence” is Hot Chip’s memorial to McIvor, who died in September 2025. McIvor was known as a Glasgow DJ and promoter as well as a central figure in Optimo, the club institution and wider musical community associated with his work. The band’s decision to lead the album campaign with that tribute places a specific friendship and scene connection at the centre of the new release.
Goddard’s recollection of meeting McIvor at Sub Club makes the link more than passing name-checking. It establishes McIvor as a long-running influence on Hot Chip’s orbit, while the song itself addresses that influence in a direct, personal form. The available announcement does not offer a broader account of the unreleased album’s themes, so “Random Violence” remains the clearest documented indication of its emotional frame.
The track arrives with a video directed by Jack Cole and featuring Boss Morris, described by Domino as an all-female progressive morris-dancing group. That pairing gives the visual a distinct performance element without requiring the song’s tribute to be reduced to a simple commemorative gesture.
A Long Way From Kansas arrives January 8 via Domino
A Long Way From Kansas will be released on January 8, 2027 through Domino Records. It is Hot Chip’s ninth studio album, according to the label’s October 19 announcement. Beyond the confirmed release date, title and position in the group’s studio catalogue, the announcement does not set out further album-format details.
The January date gives “Random Violence” an extended lead-in as the first music attached to the record. For now, the track’s memorial purpose and its accompanying video are the most fully defined elements of the campaign; listeners should be cautious about reading its specific subject as a complete map of an album that has not yet arrived.
Beth Ditto, Eddie Chacon and Felix Martin feature on the 11-track album
The album contains 11 tracks. Two collaborations have been named: “Me In Your Head” features Beth Ditto, while “The Garden” features Eddie Chacon. Domino has also confirmed that Felix Martin sings on a Hot Chip record for the first time.
The details identify several vocal presences and make the announced track titles useful early markers, especially Martin’s debut vocal role within the group’s recorded catalogue. They do not yet establish how those appearances function musically or how extensively they appear across the album, nor do they offer grounds to speculate on the still-unheard material.
The follow-up to Freakout/Release
The new album follows Hot Chip’s 2022 studio record Freakout/Release, as reported by Pitchfork. That places A Long Way From Kansas as the group’s next full studio statement, arriving five years after its predecessor.
With an 11-track set, the confirmed Ditto and Chacon features, and Martin’s first Hot Chip vocal, the immediate next milestone is the January 8 release. Until then, “Random Violence” stands as the record’s opening document: a song shaped by Hot Chip’s longstanding connection to McIvor and the Optimo world.
