Perfume Genius releases 'Natural High' for dance project 'The Lesson'
Perfume Genius has released "Natural High", a six-minute song that introduces his new stage project "The Lesson".
The track is the lead single for the project, the first song released ahead of a larger work, according to Pitchfork. It is his first new music since the 2025 album "Glory". Its running time was noted by Stereogum, which lists the song at six minutes.
"The Lesson" reunites singer and songwriter Mike Hadreas, who records and performs as Perfume Genius, with choreographer Kate Wallich, the artist who creates the dance. It is billed as "a live music and dance performance". Hadreas has written the score, the music composed to accompany the stage work.
The starting point is a book and a film. "The Lesson" is inspired by Elfriede Jelinek's novel "The Piano Teacher" and its film adaptation by director Michael Haneke. The novel centres on a piano teacher whose disciplined public life sits alongside private desire. The film is known for its direct and unsparing telling of that story.
A venue listing for the production outlines its questions in plain terms. It describes "The Lesson" by Wallich and Perfume Genius as an examination of what happens when desire has nowhere to go, according to Northrop. The same listing says the piece investigates what is being rehearsed when people practise "good behavior".
The single was made with outside help. "Natural High" was co-produced by Pascal Stevenson, who also makes music as Fashion Club. Co-production means Stevenson shared responsibility for shaping the recording, from sound to arrangement.
What makes this stand out is the format. The new song has not arrived as part of a conventional album announcement. It is the musical entry point to an evening of live music and movement built around restraint and appetite.
For listeners, that means two ways in. The recording can be heard on its own. The full meaning will come when the score is heard with dancers in the room.
