When Ryan DeRobertis announced the name change of his project from Saint Pepsi to Skylar Spence, there was no indication of any stylistic departure, though the change arrived with a musical shift toward faster tempos and more pristine production. Whereas Saint Pepsi had often used decades-old boogie, disco, and new wave as grist for the sampling mill, Skylar Spence is intent on trafficking more overtly in those genre aesthetics through his own production techniques and vocal contributions. With Prom King, DeRobertis reoriented his music for his new full-band live act and wound up with an album full of tight and enveloping dance tunes.

Working with Carpark Records “gave me the confidence to ‘go big’ with the new material: to write pop songs with universal messages in the sonic wrapping paper that I’ve grown accustomed to,” DeRobertis says. “A few songs on Prom King are about specific events in my life—a party where I got too messed up, watching a friend’s life spiral out of control and trying to help—but I tried hard not to be too autobiographical because I want my music to unite, above all else. I’m much more interested in connecting with the listener than mystifying my personality.”

While DeRobertis’ previous long-players had been more amorphous collections in the style of beat tapes, Prom King is compact and cohesive, with the album’s varied stylistic references (new wave, UK garage, boogie) united through strong guitar melodies and Todd Edwards-ian cobblings-together of tiny vocal samples. Prom King was DeRobertis making sense of missed opportunities. His high school did not have a prom king; he has filled the position with an imaginative album of personal and musical revisionism. In the last decade, the album has taken on a life of its own. With over 42 million streams and a strong cult following, Carpark & Skylar Spence are excited to reissue Prom King (10 year Anniversary Edition).