As the creative force behind Mortal Prophets, John Beckmann has grown accustomed to the darker corners of psychedelia and ambient experimentation. Utopia PKWY’s “I Knew You Were Trouble” doesn’t so much abandon that wide-screen canvas as recast it in a brighter, more melodic light—one that sounds like a splash of primary color on an opaque backdrop. Named after the street in Queens that’s forever linked to pioneering avant-garde artist Joseph Cornell, Beckmann’s latest project favors hooks and immediacy while remaining delightfully strange and somewhat damaged.
Beckmann stresses that Utopia PKWY isn’t about innocence—it’s about possibility. “There’s a certain optimism in accepting uncertainty rather than trying to control it, and that’s the emotional engine driving ‘I Knew You Were Trouble,’” he says. “The dreamlike quality comes from the tension between what we know and what we want. That’s a recurring theme throughout my work. Memory, desire and imagination are constantly rewriting one another.”
For Utopia PKWY’s forthcoming Debut (Lux Astralis), Beckmann defers to Tanner McGraw and Lawson Mars for the album’s lead vocals. The shift transforms his intricate songwriting and adventurous production into something youthful and radiant. Sci-fi theremins, shimmering keyboards, swirling sitars and tape-warped textures coexist with infectious choruses on an LP that feels at once nostalgic and futuristic.
“Tanner’s voice brings gravity without heaviness, and that’s a difficult balance to achieve,” says Beckmann. “He doesn’t sound trapped inside the dream—he sounds like he’s moving through it. He can sing a surreal lyric and make it feel conversational, almost inevitable.”
Ultimately, that speaks to what Beckmann was after with Utopia PKWY. “I wasn’t interested in creating a sequel to the Mortal Prophets,” he says. “I wanted to explore what happened if the same obsessions—love, memory, longing, transformation—were viewed through a more hopeful lens. Tanner became the perfect guide for that journey because his voice naturally carries a sense of forward motion. The result feels less like wandering through a forgotten mansion and more like driving toward a distant horizon with no particular destination in mind.”
We’re proud to the premiere Utopia PKWY’s “I Knew You Were Trouble.” below. Debut is out November 6.
—Hobart Rowland
