The Philadelphia singer Bilal is a veteran of the neo-soul era, and his voice still carries the wide-open sense of possibility that it did back then. Bilal is a prolific collaborator — he last appeared on this site for helping Denzel Curry cover Erykah Badu — but he hasn’t released a studio album of his own since 2015’s In Another Life. That’ll change next month, when Bilal drops his new LP Adjust Brightness.

It looks like Adjust Brightness will be a big departure for Bilal. A press release lists Aphex Twin, Stereolab, and Jai Paul as influences. First single “Sunshine” is a short, lovely song with some of the soulful expansiveness that Bilal always brought, but it’s also got a fast, muted electronic beat that reminds me of Chicago footwork. The combination really works.

In a press release, Bilal says, “I realized a long time ago that, with the specter of AI and streaming, we risk losing our humanity. With Adjust Brightness, it was like: let’s make some shit that is going to confuse the damn computer. We’re bringing a love frequency — emphasizing the warmth, the love. It’s an intimate record.” Below, check out the “Sunshine” video, the Adjust Brightness tracklist, and Bilal’s upcoming tour dates, including a few shows as part of his old collaborator Adrian Younge’s Jazz Is Dead project.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Ever Changing”
02 “Sunshine”
03 “Lay Around”
04 “Tell Me”
05 “Who We Are Now”
06 “A To Z”
07 “The Story” (Feat. Robert Glasper)
08 “Micro Macro”
09 “Adjust Brightness”
10 “Conditional”
11 “The Other Day”

TOUR DATES:
10/07 – Albany, NY @ The Egg
10/08 – Somerville, MA @ Crystal Ballroom
10/09 – Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live *
10/10 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg ^
10/11 – Alexandria, VA @ Birchmere
10/13 – Atlanta, GA @ City Winery Atlanta #
10/14 – Nashville, TN @ City Winery Nashville @
10/16 – St. Louis, MO @ City Winery St. Louis @
10/17 – Chicago, IL @ Ramova Theater ^
10/19 – Iowa City, IA @ Englert Theatre @
10/20 – Minneapolis, MN @ The Dakota
10/22 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Lodge Room (Jazz Is Dead)
10/23 – Berkeley, CA @ Cornerstone Craft Beer & Live Music (Jazz Is Dead)
10/24 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios (Jazz Is Dead)
10/25 – Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern (Jazz Is Dead)
10/26 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret

* with Melanie Charles
^ with Madison McFerrin
# with Halima
@ with Aliah Sheffield

The self-released Adjust Brightness is out 9/27.