Planet Booty has been playing with us. First the electro-funk-soul trio let us see a video of them naked. Then, while on tour twice this summer, the Oakland band invited us to dance and through their infectious onstage energy got us to booty bounce. The rising group further lured us in, singing of sex in the air and releasing singles one-by-one until we were hooked.

Just as we wanted more, Planet Booty’s anticipated new album Naked came out in its entirety. Now our favorite celestial body of booty will celebrate with a record release show at the Chapel in San Francisco on September 9, 2017.

“This album represents the joy, inspirations, and challenges of who we are and what we have to offer the world,” lead singer Dylan Charles Germick said. “It represents the process of us putting our whole heart into something, even when we didn’t know the outcome.”

The nine-track Naked is currently available online and is expected to be out on vinyl in the fall. It has collaborations including “Junk in the Trunk,” which Planet Booty co-wrote with San Diego rapper El Gun Legro, and “Sex Is In the Air,” which features Bay Area singer Audio Angel.

Overall, the album is in keeping with Planet Booty’s fun and feel-good style of upbeat dance music. But it also features slower, more pensive songs that reflect bandmates’ life experiences and reveal another side of this multifaceted trio.

“The songs have a good range of styles and sounds and it is my hope that there is at least one song on the album for everyone,” Germick said. “I hope the album showcases our range as performers and artists.”

Germick (vocals, trumpet), Josh Cantero (vocals, keys, trombone), and Rob Gwin (percussion, bass) recorded at Hellam Sound in Oakland over many months. Aaron Hellam, who worked with the band on its 2014 album FUTURESWEAT, mixed, mastered, and helped produce Naked.

“Experiencing the big, lush sounds that three of us have created was all the payback I needed,” Germick said. “Even if this record doesn’t travel a far distance, like I hope it will, it certainly points to great things that are to come from us.”

The project started with an idea for one song called “Naked,” which led to making an accompanying music video and an EP. That grew into full-length LP and a two-phased tour.

Here’s how it happened. Planet Booty launched a Kickstarter campaign on August 29, 2016. The goal was to raise $22,000 to make the “Naked” video and to record a vinyl EP of the same name. When the Kickstarter ended one month later, the goal was surpassed, reaching $25,403. The extra money was earmarked to fund an extended tour.

Planet Booty went to work. As a result of productive studio time, the band recorded more material than anticipated and decided to compile a full album. The trio shot its most professional video to date with Germick baring all for the “Naked” video which debuted in January 2017.

The band went on to release one digital single per month throughout the summer – “Naked” in May, “In My Life” in June, and “Sex Is In The Air” in July. The entire Naked album dropped online August 29, 2017, exactly one year after the Kickstarter campaign began.

“This record was a labor of love and has been well over a year in the making. While the work was mostly full of joy and curious discovery there were feelings of uncertainty,” Germick said. “It is the first recorded body of work with our three-man setup and we take some chances stylistically.”

Planet Booty will perform new material from Naked as well as Booty classics at its Chapel appearance. The Mothers of Pearl dancers will help get booties shaking and queer punk group Bitch Please will start the show.

“Expect our full exultation of joy and celebration not just for the album being finished, but also for our family, friends, and fans who have made Planet Booty what it is,” Germick said. “Like any Planet Booty party there will be all kinds of types, colors, and shapes celebrating life on the dance floor. Please come and set yourself free as Planet Booty tries to climb higher in the sky for all to see.”

Planet Booty, Bitch Please
The Chapel
September 9, 2017
9pm, $15