Yasmin Williams, Black Keys, Silkroad, Rhiannon Giddens, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Gabriel Kahane, Natalie Merchant News
New Yasmin Williams album * Black Keys, Silkroad, Rhiannon Giddens pre-orders * Hurray for the Riff Raff in Pitchfork * new Gabriel Kahane track * Natalie Merchant on Joni Mitchell * and more
New This Week
Yasmin Williams: Acadia
Composer/guitarist Yasmin Williams' Nonesuch debut album, Acadia, her most sonically expansive work to date, is nine original tracks written and produced by Williams, and features her on various guitars, banjo, calabash drum, tap shoes, and kora. She is joined by an eclectic cast of collaborators—including Immanuel Wilkins, Dom Flemons, Aoife O’Donovan, William Tyler, Darlingside, and others—creating a folk music that reflects the wide range of musical influences that have inspired her throughout her life. Songlines calls her "an original, a genuine trailblazer, one of those rare musicians who challenges your preconceptions about the possible."
Available to Pre-Order
The Black Keys: Ohio Players (Trophy Edition)
Available November 15
The Black Keys' eighteen-track Ohio Players (Trophy Edition)—the two-LP deluxe edition of the band's twelfth studio album—features four previously unreleased tracks in a gatefold jacket, with an alternate cover and new album sequencing. Special guests include DannyLux, Alice Cooper, and Beck, in addition to the many collaborations on the original Ohio Players songs.
Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens: American Railroad
Available November 15
American Railroad, from the Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens, is the culmination of four years of research, collaboration, and music-making, having brought Silkroad artists all across the US to uncover and uplift stories of those who built the transcontinental railroad and connecting railways across North America. "The result is a tapestry of stories, traditions, and music that have shaped our multifaceted cultural identity, and that must be heard and recognized," Giddens says.
News from the Nonesuch Journal
Watch: The Black Keys Share "Mi Tormenta" Featuring DannyLux
The Black Keys have released a new song from Ohio Players (Trophy Edition), "Mi Tormenta," featuring DannyLux, along with an official video directed by Corey Bost. The song features Dan Auerbach and DannyLux both singing in Spanish.
Watch: Silkroad Ensemble, Rhiannon Giddens Share American Railroad Track
The first single from Silkroad and Rhiannon Giddens's upcoming album, American Railroad, is her arrangement of the traditional songs "Swannanoa Tunnel / Steel-Driving Man." The former is written by wrongfully imprisoned Black men and women, who unwillingly risked their lives building the Swannanoa Tunnel in Giddens's home state of North Carolina. The latter is about the folk hero John Henry.
Hurray for the Riff Raff Album Among Decade's Best, Per Pitchfork
Congratulations to Hurray for the Riff Raff, whose new album, The Past Is Still Alive, Pitchfork named one of the Best Albums of the 2020s So Far. "Nine albums in, Alynda Segarra made the record of their lifetime," Jenn Pelly exclaims, "one of their generation's most fearless folk-rock storytellers." Kudos as well to Jeff Parker and Yasmin Williams, whose previous albums made the list.
Gabriel Kahane Shares Song As Playwrights Horizons Shows Open
In celebration of the Playwrights Horizons production of his Magnificent Bird / Book of Travelers opening this week, Gabriel Kahane released a recording of his song "Give Us the Ballot." "With another election on the horizon, I thought this was the best moment to release a song that describes my relationship to voting, at a time when it is easy to become cynical about our sclerotic political landscape."
Listen: Natalie Merchant Talks Joni Mitchell on Sheroes
Natalie Merchant spoke with Sheroes host Carmel Holt for the show's special ten-part series The Road to Joni, honoring Joni Mitchell. This week, Merchant discusses her own relationship with Mitchell's music and shares a previously unreleased recording of her performing "All I Want" from her personal archives
Nonesuch Events for the Weekend
Emmylou Harris, Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway are at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. Sam Amidon is in Dublin. Tyondai Braxton is in Oakland. Hurray for the Riff Raff tours Australia. Gabriel Kahane's Book of Travelers / Magnificent Bird continue in NYC. Natalie Merchant, Mandy Patinkin are at Hudson Valley Votes in Kingston, NY. Steve Reich is performed in Amsterdam. Gustavo Santaolalla performs Ronroco in Dubai. Caroline Shaw, Attacca Quartet perform in Oslo. Vagabon tours California. Yasmin Williams joins Michael Kiwanuka, Brittany Howard in Chicago and St. Paul.
Steve Reich's Radio Rewrite at 10
It was 10 years ago this week: Steve Reich's Radio Rewrite was released. The album features the title piece (which references two songs by Radiohead), Electric Counterpoint, and Piano Counterpoint, performed by Alarm Will Sound, Jonny Greenwood, and Vicky Chow, respectively. The Observer calls the title piece "instantly accessible, instantly enjoyable." NME says of the album: "Deeply affecting, this is a great showcase of a compelling mind."
Sam Amidon's Lily-O at 10
It was 10 years ago this week: Sam Amidon's Lily-O was released. The album, produced by Valgeir Sigurðsson, features guitarist Bill Frisell, bassist Shahzad Ismaily, and drummer Chris Vatalaro. "Every little unexpected twist shimmers with originality," says NPR. The New York Times calls it "hauntingly beautiful." "Gorgeous," exclaims MusicOMH.
Michael Wilson / 25 Years: A Nonesuch Collection
Michael Wilson / 25 Years: A Nonesuch Collection—100 box sets of 20 newly created prints from photographer Michael Wilson's Nonesuch archive—is out now, including the below images of Kronos Quartet and Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. (An exhibition of the prints opened at Warner Records in LA; take a quick look here.) Below, he reflects on making them:
Kronos Quartet (2009)
Kronos was playing at a music festival in Cincinnati when this picture was made. Cincinnati is my home. It is where I grew up and the only place I've lived, so it was a special treat for me to have a few hours with the quartet and pilot them to a couple of my favorite "secret" spots for making pictures. In this picture, they are standing in front of one of the flood walls built to protect the city from the Ohio River.
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (2003)
At the time I was asked to make pictures with Lorraine, I knew nothing about her or her music—my loss. What a voice. I treasure the opportunity to have spent a little time with her, especially in light of her too early passing several years after this picture was made. I can’t help but smile thinking back at how we got kicked out of Lincoln Center for trying to take pictures in the lobby while a matinee was underway. Lorraine’s being a member of the Metropolitan Opera notwithstanding!