Brooklyn synth-dream duo 12090 A.D. just dropped a cover that’ll stop you mid-scroll — a dark, ethereal reimagining of Depeche Mode’s World in My Eyes. It hits different – the kind of different that makes you wonder if the original was secretly waiting for this version all along.
The cover arrives ahead of their self-titled debut album ‘12090 A.D.’, out April 24th, and follows their previously released singles Valediction and Shades. If those tracks put you onto this duo, this one locks it in.
Two Visionaries, One Dark Dream
The band is built around two genuinely fascinating people. Tim Kuhl — drummer, composer, producer, and veteran of sessions with Sean Lennon, Zola Jesus, and Margaret Glaspy — brought the architectural bones. His arrangement is hypnotic and precise, pulsing with something that recalls Suicide and Portishead in the same breath. He’s been called a visionary for a reason.
Then there’s Anna Copa Cabanna — legendary NYC go-go dancer, Australian showgirl, and true downtown original. She’s opened for Booker T at Lincoln Center, been the twirling face of The Pixies’ Doolittle Tour, and earned a New Yorker nod for good measure. When her voice lands on top of Kuhl’s arrangement, it transforms. This is what she had to say about it:
“One of my favorite songs to sing live. That riff is a conjuring… I feel like we are Sirens making good mischief together. I love singing a horndog song originally written by a man. Reinventing the narrative. ‘World in My Eyes’ with its imagery of movement and bodies — it feels less about sex and more about revealing exactly how I see the world. As a woman. No permission needed.”
Tim’s take was equally immediate:
“It popped up on the radio one night when I was driving home. I heard something else in there this time around. A new way. I got home and made the arrangement almost immediately. Once Anna put down the vocal, I realized this could work. It just feels like one of our other original compositions. Pretty cool.”
The Sound
12090 A.D. lives in a liminal space — somewhere between late-70s Berlin neon and a Lynch fever dream. Their sound has drawn comparisons to Twin Peaks and Beach House, but that’s just the entry point. This is music for 4 AM drives through empty cities. For moments when the veil between worlds goes thin. Their live shows are described as near-ritualistic, pulling audiences into an atmosphere that feels both ancient and totally from the future.
Mark Your Calendars
The self-titled debut ‘12090 A.D.’ drops April 24th. If World in My Eyes is any indication of where this record lives, we’re in for something genuinely special. Keep your eyes — and ears — on these two.
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