After spending much of the last half-decade producing and collaborating behind the scenes, Chrome Sparks is stepping back into the spotlight. The electronic artist and multi-instrumentalist born Jeremy Malvin has confirmed his new album, Ball of Light, due Sept. 11 via Chrome Sounds/AWAL, and shared its first single, “Sleeper,” featuring Khalid and Sigur Rós frontman Jónsi.
The track unites three distinctive voices over Chrome Sparks’ lush, cinematic production, pairing Khalid’s soulful delivery with Jónsi’s unmistakable falsetto atop shimmering electronic textures. According to Malvin, the song signals a broader creative reset.
“Over the last seven years, I’ve focused mostly on collaborations and other artists’ projects,” he said. “Ball of Light is me finding myself again.”
The album marks Chrome Sparks’ first full-length solo project since 2018’s self-titled debut and follows earlier releases including Goddess and Be on Fire. Described as his most personal work yet, Ball of Light finds Malvin reconnecting with the blend of electronic music, ambient composition and emotionally resonant songwriting that first earned him acclaim with breakthrough track “Marijuana,” while pushing those ideas into more expansive territory.
Although he’s largely stayed out of the artist spotlight in recent years, Malvin has remained busy behind the boards. His recent production credits include Slayyyter’s “Unknown Loverz” from WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA, several tracks from Lily Allen’s West End Girl, including “Dallas Major,” “Lost Girl” and “Madeline,” Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco’s “Sunset Blvd” from I Said I Love You First, and Mallrat’s ARIA Platinum-certified “My Darling, My Angel.”
In a 2013 interview with SPIN, Malvin recalled his formative days at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he lived on top of Wazoo Records. “I would always go through their bargain bins where they had really cheap albums, but they also had the best new shit,” he said, “I lived on the third floor, and the second floor was the record store and the first was a bar. I miss that bar so much. I moved in there before I was 21, and I was nervous that I would spend all my money on records, and when I turned 21 that I’d spend it all on alcohol. I had a little more self-control than I expected, thankfully, but I definitely spent too much money in both of those places. My favorite rare gem record is ‘I’m An Indian, Too’ by Don Armando’s Second Avenue Rhumba Band. It’s one of my favorite disco tracks of all time. It was a show tune that was adapted to be a disco track, and it’s really funky and really groovy.”
