Time bends, shadows stretch, and the future hums softly in neon—12090 A.D. have officially arrived. The Brooklyn-based synth dream-pop duo—featuring downtown siren Anna Copa Cabanna and visionary drummer/composer Tim Kuhl—have announced their self-titled debut album, out April 24, and it feels like stepping into a transmission from another timeline.
Alongside the album announcement comes their first single, Valediction, a track that drips with noir romance and late-night electricity. Think late-’70s Berlin club energy colliding with a velvet-curtain dream sequence—music that feels intimate, cinematic, and a little dangerous.
Kuhl traces the song’s origins to long nights, deep listening, and unexpected inspiration. The title nods to the iconic graphic novel V for Vendetta by Alan Moore, while the sonic DNA pulls from the sleek mystique of synth auteur Johnny Jewel and his label Italians Do It Better. What began as an instrumental slowly revealed a voice in the fog—until Anna stepped in and the track became something else entirely.
For Anna, Valediction was instantly visual. Goodbye, yes—but glamorous. She imagined Grace Jones energy at 3 a.m. in an early-’80s Paris nightclub: smoke curling through colored lights, bodies still awake, seduction hanging in the air. The song is about endings that aren’t tragic—about letting go with style, strength, and a wink.
Musically, 12090 A.D. sit in a hypnotic sweet spot. Kuhl’s precise, pulsing compositions echo the mechanical cool of Suicide and the shadowy weight of Portishead. Over that, Anna’s voice drifts like fog under streetlights—commanding, seductive, and unsettling. Touchstones like Twin Peaks or Beach House come to mind, but only as loose signposts. This is beauty with an edge—melody as mystery.
Live, the duo don’t just play songs—they conjure spaces. Every performance feels like a ritual, pulling the room into a liminal zone where time blurs and every synth line feels like a coded message from the future. Catch 12090 A.D. live at TV Eye on March 4, and step inside the signal.
Who is Tim Kuhl?
An endlessly versatile drummer, composer, and producer, Tim Kuhl has carved out a singular path from Baltimore to Brooklyn. Equally at home in jazz clubs, rock venues, and experimental spaces, he’s toured and recorded with Sean Lennon (with The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger), Zola Jesus, Margaret Glaspy, and bassist Michael Formanek. His solo work blends indie-jazz instincts with cinematic ’80s synths, always focused on texture and restraint. He’s also an official artist for Vater Percussion.
Who is Anna Copa Cabanna?
A true downtown chameleon, Anna Copa Cabanna brings a darker, glam-charged edge to 12090 A.D. Known as an “Always Entertaining” force, she’s danced, emceed, and performed across the globe—appearing on Pixies’ ‘Doolittle’ tour, singing for a United Nations PSA, fronting an AC/DC cover band, and opening for Booker T at Lincoln Center.
Her orbit includes collaborators like Fred Schneider, Cole Escola, and punk icons Tommy Ramone, James Chance, and Kid Congo Powers. Her long-running, sold-out Joe’s Pub residency at Joe’s Pub earned praise as “weird and wonderful,” and recognition from Flavorpill alongside legends like Yoko Ono and Bill Cunningham.
With their debut album on the horizon and Valediction setting the tone, 12090 A.D. feel less like a new band and more like a portal opening. This is music for 4 a.m. drives, empty streets, and moments when the veil thins and the future whispers back.
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