Angèle announces third album ‘Instinct,’ featuring Justice, Soulwax, Caroline Polachek and SebastiAn, out October 16
Angèle is heading for the dancefloor, and she is bringing electronic royalty with her. On August 31, the Belgian pop star announced her third studio album, Instinct, an eclectic, collaboration-heavy record that unites her with French duo Justice, Soulwax, Caroline Polachek, and SebastiAn. Due October 16 via Angèle VL Records and Sony Music, the 13-track LP marks her first full-length since 2021’s Nonante-Cinq and signals a decisive push deeper into club-facing territory.
The announcement arrived alongside a new single, “Une seule vie,” accompanied by a video directed by Thomas Mailaender. The visual explores memory, nostalgia, and the passage of time through an intentionally analogue aesthetic, which Mailaender described as using analogue imagery as a “fragile, imperfect material” through which Angèle’s memories and visions could take physical form. It is a fittingly reflective introduction to a record that balances introspection with electronic muscle.
A French-Touch Family Reunion
The guest list reads like a who’s who of European dance music. The album will feature “What You Want,” Angèle’s collaboration with Justice released earlier this year, which doubled as her first single entirely in English. Soulwax feature on “Trop,” while Caroline Polachek and SebastiAn appear together on the intriguingly titled “Love Triangle.” The album also includes the previously released single “Dis-le,” produced with Angèle’s longtime collaborator Tristan Salvati, who self-produced the record alongside her.
That lineup is not a case of a pop star borrowing credibility. Justice and Soulwax have occupied a central position in contemporary electronic music since their mid-2000s breakthroughs, and SebastiAn is an Ed Banger original, placing Instinct squarely in the lineage of French touch. For Angèle, who has always kept one foot in club culture, linking with these names reads as a natural evolution rather than a reinvention. The full tracklist runs from the opening “Instinct (intro)” through the closing “NYC Blues,” with the marquee collaborations scattered across the back half.
A Star Pushing Her Sound Forward
For anyone who knows Angèle only from her Dua Lipa collaboration “Fever” or her scene-stealing festival runs, it is worth stressing how significant an artist she is in the French-speaking world. Her debut album Brol went multi-platinum, and she routinely sells out arenas across France and Belgium. Instinct arrives after a notably busy stretch of collaborations, including a recent appearance alongside Belgian techno artist Amelie Lens on “run,” a track from Lens’ forthcoming album AURA.
That momentum places Angèle at the center of a broader moment for French and francophone electronic music, a scene enjoying renewed global attention. With Instinct, she appears to be pushing further into electronic territory while retaining the sharp pop sensibility that made her one of Belgium’s most prominent contemporary artists. The question now is one of texture. Whether the Justice track leans toward Hyperdrama-era stadium electro or something softer remains to be heard, but the ambition behind the pairing is unmistakable.
Instinct is shaping up as a statement record, an artist at the peak of her commercial powers choosing collaboration and experimentation over playing it safe. By surrounding herself with some of the most respected names in electronic music while keeping creative control alongside Salvati, Angèle has set up her most sonically adventurous project yet. Instinct arrives October 16 via Angèle VL Records / Sony Music, and “Une seule vie” is out now.
