Photo credit: Jamie Wdziekonski

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have announced their sixteenth studio album, titled K.G. In addition to the new studio effort, the famously-prolific Australian psych-rockers have also announced a new live release, Live In S.F. ’16. Both records are due out on Nov. 20.

In addition to the record announcements, the band also shared a new single titled “Automation.” They previously shared singles “Honey,” “Some of Us” and “Straws In The Wind.” Along with the new single, the band shared the raw audio and video files for “Automation,” encouraging fans to create their own music videos and remixes for the song.

According to a press release, “K.G. is the next chapter — Vol. 2, if you will — of the band’s previous explorations into microtonal tunings, first captured on their acclaimed 2017 album Flying Microtonal Banana.”

“FMB was one of the purest and most enjoyable recording experiences we’ve had, and the ideas just kept coming,” said frontman and de facto bandleader Stu Mackenzie via press release. “But we didn’t think we would play it live as the music dictated a new medium that requires different instruments, new flight cases and so. It was a liberating studio-based experiment which surprisingly translated seamlessly and spawned some of favorite songs to play live.”

According to a press release, the new album was constructed mostly remotely as the band members were no longer able to record in person. “Songs were pieced together and given space to breathe, which allowed the music to be entirely free,” read the release.

“It’s almost like an album that normal people make,” joked Mackenzie. “Almost…”

“Ten years ago I was 19 and older peers that I looked up to were telling me that music was something you did for a few years, then give up and get a job,” he continued. “That was really depressing to me because I was having so much fun, living hedonistically and finding my way. Because I’d picked up a guitar quite late I was playing catch-up to all my friends, so it felt like I had a three or four year window before I was going to be pushed off a cliff. It literally felt like creative death was imminent. So I never foresaw this as a career. God no. And I’ve still managed to avoid getting a job.”

Listen to “Automation” here. Pre-order K.G. here and Live In S.F. ’16 here.