news archive for Leila Adu
Leila Adu’s new album is OUT NOW online through Cargo Records UK and Goodfellas Italy, licensed by Raitrade (the Italian National Radio label who have released albums by Anthony Braxton, Robert Wyatt & Matthew Shipp.) The album is in stores in Italy where it is already receiving critical acclaim: Sentire Ascoltare and I’ve Always Wanted to be a Gangster
Ode to the Unknown Factory Worker will be in stores in the UK, USA, Japan, Germany and France in January 2011.
Next month, the new album Ode to the Unknown Factory Worker is out on the Italian National Radio label, RAI Trade/Tracce, in the UK, USA, Germany, France and Japan distributed by Goodfellas. Tracce has achieved critical acclaim due to their previous releases including experimental legends Robert Wyatt, Anthony Braxton, Amiri Baraka and Matthew Shipp.
In Atlanta, Georgia, Leila performed on the outdoor stage at Centennial Olympic Park with Stoni Taylor and Miles of Stone and had two promo shoots.
Award-winning Atlanta based UK photographer, Leon Dale, shot Leila who was dressed in African inspired garb by Eighty Jane, the Nigerian/American fashion stylist/poet which will feature in her hip chique fashion blog www.thefashioncult.com.
Tania Calderon, beauty, fashion and commercial photographer, took a series of images at her studio, Calderón Foto.
Also coming up in 2010, Minus Habens, the electronic label who have been releasing legends such Brian Eno, Depeche Mode, Angelo Badalamenti, Aphex Twin and Cabaret Voltaire will release MDF, the electronica project of De Santis. Tracks from the album feature Leila including the pre-release single “prendi uno” which was featured on New York based online community and festival URB ALT’s digital download sampler with Flying Lotus, Gonjasufi and Jneiro Jarel. Leila is now working on a new solo album for 2011 using ‘Ableton Live’ to produce the set of electronic songs.
Performance of The City & The Voodoo Lady @ Urb Alt Fest 2010, 92Y, New York
Stateside Summer and New Releases
With over 13,000 downloads of their previous sampler, the latest URB ALT Sampler-Tres Free download was released in June to celebrate the URB ALT 2010 Festival launch and includes ‘prendi uno’ the new single by MDF Feat. Leila Adu. Electronica producer MDF‘s solo album ‘Horus’ was released this year and labels are already interested in his next release which will include ‘prendi uno’ and other tracks in collaboration with Leila Adu. The URB ALT Sampler-Tres Free download features artists who performed for this year’s festival:Muthawit, Oh My Goodness, Dearling Physique, The Twin Shadow, MiLo and Lou Rossi, as well members of the URB ALT community from around the globe such as Gonjasufi/Flying Lotus, Dave I.D., Tuneyards, Faith, Jneiro Jarel and more.
Leila Adu’s fourth studio album of songs ‘Ode the the Unknown Factory Worker,’ solo piano, organ and voice with four tracks accompanied by drummer Daniele De Santis, is set to be released by RAI TRADE/Tracce and distributed worldwide in October 2010. ‘The Shoreditch Concert,’ an acoustic free improv concert released last month on Amirani Records of the group of Hannah Marshall_Nicola Guazzaloca_Gianni Mimmo_Leila Adu’ is receiving consistent reviews and radioplay in France and Italy. ‘Dark Joan’ the album produced by Steve Albini out on Frizz Records, is now being physically distributed in New Zealand stores and sites by Border Music www.youtube.com/bordermusicnz
Grand Piano in the Big Apple – URB ALT Fest 2010
Leila performs at URB ALT Fest 2010 (Underground Railroad Broadcasting Alternatives) for their 5th Anniversary in lower Manhattan at 92Y Tribeca’s concert hall on June 25. After song shows in Rome, London, Chicago, LA with punk improv bassist Orlando “Oddrocker” Greenhill and around New Zealand solo and with top rock, jazz and pop musicians – she also appeared at improv shows with ‘Melancholy Babes’ members and ‘Lippizanas’ at Auckland’s boutique liquor-house ‘The Winecellar’ who will release the concert on the venue label later in 2010. At 92Y, Leila will perform alongside the godfathers and mothers of psychedelic hard rock Muthawit and the première film screening of indie horror psychodrama, “Phlo” directed by renowned American director and cinematographer, Jim Fielder.
Tickets to June 25 Leila Adu, Muthawit & “Phlo”@ 92Y Tribeca, NYC
Locations and Lineup details for URB ALT Fest 2010 – June 18, 19, 24, 25, 26 NYC
With already 7,000 downloads URB ALT Sampler-Dos – featuring MuthaWit, Gil Scott-Heron, GrizzlyBear, BLK JKS, Leila Adu and Meshell – is going strong, free to download and only available till mid-June
See the new Dark Joan Music Video on Leila Adu’s Youtube Channel. Shot in Rome and directed by award winning movement theatre director, Stephen Bain (NZ), it stars Leila as a modern day Joan of Arc (kind of) pitted against a girl army with crazy cardboard costumes
North Island for New Zealand Music Month
After a sellout Christchurch show, the North Island concerts begin at Wellington’s San Francisco Bathhouse on Sunday 2 May where Leila will be joined by some of the great names of the New Zealand music scene – guitarist David Long (The Mutton Birds), saxophonist Jeff Henderson (Syzygy, the Melancholy Babes) and drummer Chris O’Connor (SJD, Don McGlashan’s Seven Sisters.) The show begins with Crown Julz & the 24 Carats the latest incarnation of songwriter and lyricist Crown Julz – Vocals, Electric Guitar, Ukulele with Ben Lemi Wood on drums (Hikoikoi, Urban Tramper) and bass legend Patric Bleakley (BLERTA.)
Delve into Leila’s thoughts on NZ and her homecoming tour in the URB ALT New York Interview “One Day I’d Like To Have A Garden” and her first Christchurch concert in five years “Jazz Star Comes Home For Festival” article in The Press
Wellington tickets are available at Real Groovy and Under The Radar has an exclusive online offer to book tickets online at door entry price including booking fee and the option to download Dark Joan at a discounted price Discounted Dark Joan Album Download Deal
UP & COMING NZ Tour Dates
2 May – The San Francisco Bathhouse with Crown Julz & The 24 Carats – Wellington
5 May – Sound & Vision NZ Music Month SOLO – Palmerston North
7 May – The Winecellar with Jenny Lange & Dean Roberts – Auckland
NZ alternative singer/pianist, LEILA ADU is in the company of the some of the world’s most exciting artists, old and new, on the URB ALT Sampler-Dos…
It’s a bit of a coup that URB ALT have pulled it off but the Album Length FREE Download ‘URB ALT Sampler-Dos’ is hot off the press today: “The licensing of the songs took 3 months to settle due to the inclusion of several large indie label artists.” — URB ALT Blog
– Indie darlings Grizzly Bear (Warp Records)
– Rock soul superstar Me’Shell Ndegeocello
– The legendary Gil Scott-Heron from his standout new album on XL Recordings
– Frizz Records Songster Art Terry
– Ikey Owens of MARS VOLTA live track from his band Free Moral Agent
– Avant Rawk Orchestra Muthawit ft. Boston Fielder
– Intense rockers from South Africa BLK JKS
– AND MORE….California King, Divisible, Downtown Records, Ezekiel Jiminez, Fat Transfer, Mercer Street Records, No Bra, Paris Suit Yourself, Secretly Canadian, Swallowing the Seas, The Dolldaze, Toro y Moi, Uninterrupted, URB ALT, Warp Records, XL Recordings
“the sampler is an internet link to introduce the world to many of the banging artists that participate in the URB ALT community and elsewhere.” — SUB CENTRIC Blog
OTHER NEWS
— DARK JOAN T-Shirts with original Illustration from outrageous cartoonist J. Homersham Now AVAILABLE from the Frizz Shop
— NEW IMPROV ALBUM out March 2010 – Live at Shoreditch Church – Hannah Marshall, Gianni Mimmo, Leila Adu & Nicola Guazzaloca on Amirani Records
— Live To Air — LEILA ADU & THE DON’Ts on the Hello Goodbye Show LONDON’s RESONANCE 104.4FM, 3 April 2010, midday UK time, global streaming: www.resonancefm.com
— LEILA ADU & THE DON’Ts @ THE VORTEX, 3 April 2010 – London trio with internationally reknowned improv/punk officionados, the infamous John Edwards – bass & Steve Noble – drums (Rip Rig & Panic)
In the midst of shows around the world to support her latest album ‘Dark Joan’ hot off the press late 2009 on Frizz records recorded by Steve Albini (Joanna Newsome, PJ Harvey) LEILA ADU plays in London one-night-only at the Vortex in Dalston. Her new album is coming out in 2010 on Italian National Radio lablel Tracce (other releases Robert Wyatt, Anthony Braxton, Matthew Shipp) with percussionist Daniele De Santis from Italy, who will be joining LEILA ADU at the Vortex. With support from stompin’ swamp blues one-man-dance-band Tom Rodwell. Also, a rare chance to see a piano solo from top London improviser and Toop, Zorn & the Slits sidekick, Steve Beresford
— CONFIRMED NZ Concerts in NZ Music Month incl. the San Francisco Bathhouse with David Long, Jeff Henderson & Crown Julz & 24 Carats, 2 May 2010
— Feature VIDEO – Cover of Jimi’s Manic Depression, URB ALT Jimi Hendrix Tribute Concert @ Galapagos Artspace, Brooklyn, New York, Dec 2009
NEW MUSIC VIDEO, NEW ALBUM, WORLDWIDE GIG & FESTIVAL DATES & MORE
1 — LEILA ADU was voted one of the TEN SISTAS WHO ROCKED THE DECADE on the Bold As Love site, along with Santigold and Shingai Shoniwa (The Noisettes)
2 — Under Your Skin’s Alexander McClean Interviews LEILA ADU for All About Jazz Online
3 — Dark Joan, the music video for LEILA ADU’s latest album by the same title was filmed in Rome by director by Stephen Bain (NZ) starring Leila Adu and a cast of a cardboard girl army is out February 2010.
4 — The brand new album Ode to the Unknown Factory Worker by LEILA ADU with Italian percussionist, Daniele de Santis, is being released by the Italian National Radio’s renegade radio show “battitti” under the TRACCE/RAI TRADE label in April 2010.
2010 DATES & FESTIVALS in the UK, Europe, USA & NZ Confirmed gig and festival dates in Rome, Bologna, New York, Los Angeles, Christchurch including:
5 — the Vortex with LEILA ADU & THE DON’Ts (John Edwards – bass, Steve Noble / drums – including a solo piano guest appearance from Steve Beresford and a rockin’ blues set from Tom Rowell
6 — The Christchurch Jazz & Blues Festival with Nick Gaffney (Cairo Knife Fight) at the Bedford, Christchurch, NZ
7 — DARK JOAN album, recorded by Steve Albini, released NOV09
“Leila Adu’s music is cryptic, edgy, oscillating between serious commentary and flippant experimentation.” — Sheffield Telegraph
8 — TRUTH AND THE ABSTRACT BLUES album with MIKE COOPER & FABRIZIO SPERA released JUN09
“On Bessie Smith’s “Long Old Road” Leila also sings splendidly like an old ghost with haunting slide acoustic guitar and eerie cymbal work.” — Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery, New York
9 — Radio stations featuring live concerts and singles in the last months include RAI 3 (Italian National Radio), Radio Roma Città Populare, Resonance FM (UK), NZ National Radio, Party 934 (USA)
10 — Live Performance of ‘Wolfmen’ by LEILA ADU, Dark Joan UK Release Party, The Glad, London, November 2009
LEILA ADU & THE DON’Ts @ the Vortex – Time Out Critic’s Choice
LEILA ADU & THE DON’Ts @ the Vortex – All About Jazz Online
LIVE VIDEO CLIP Leila Adu @ URB ALT: Jimi Hendrix Tribute – Manic Depression
LEILA ADU & THE DON’Ts + ELAN TAMARA
Tuesday 22 | 8.30pm | £10 | Book Online
Tonight’s gig has been curated by drummer extraordinaire Seb Rochford. The artists he has chosen are two formidable singers making waves on the London scene.
Vortex Dalston, 11 Gillett St, London, N16 8JH
Transport Dalston Kingsland rail,Buses 149, 242, 38, 30
Telephone 020 7254 4097
MuthaWit Orchestra, Leila Adu and special guests perform in celebration of the legacy of Jimi Hendrix.
Friday, November 27th, 10:30pm: Galapagos Artspace Brooklyn, NY
“URB ALT features artists that are exemplars of boundary crossing, synthesis and unification.” – The Village Voice
NEW YORK, NY (November 19, 2009) – The URB ALT showcase of cutting edge multi-cultural music/film/visual/literary artists explores the musical discography of legendary rocker, Jimi Hendrix on his birthday Friday, November 27th. The night of alternative music presented at Galapagos Artspace in Dumbo features the avant-garde classical/blues vocal and piano stylings of New Zealand chanteuse Leila Adu and the polyglot big band musical incantations of the MuthaWit Orchestra. Both artists will be performing their original material as well as compositions from Jimi Hendrix’s songbook. Digital video projections will be generated by the award-winning Bighead Scientists team.
URB ALT founder Boston Fielder, says “Hendrix’s influence as a guitarist/sound sculptor is beyond reproach. It’s comical, however, hearing artists- especially rock musicians-downplay his songwriting influence. Claiming Hendrix hasn’t influenced you is like claiming you don’t breathe air.”
Both the MuthaWit Orchestra and Leila Adu are renowned for their idiosyncratic way of melding song-form with improvisation. Based in Rome, Italy, Adu is currently riding a wave of acclaim for her recent Steve Albini produced UK release “Dark Joan.” Ironically for the evening, her piano approach harkens back to a time when rock was not so myopically associated with the guitar. She states “I discovered Hendrix through my Mum’s music collection as an early teen – she was amazed to walk in on me blasting her Hendrix records decades after they were recorded. However, when I listen and watch footage of Jimi now – I am struck by two things – love and voodoo.”
URB ALT: Jimi Hendrix Tribute
Friday, November 27, 2009 – 10:30pm
LOCATION & DIRECTIONS
Galapagos – 16 Main St at the corner of Water Street in DUMBO, BK
F train to York Street, A train to High Street or 2/3 train to Clark Street
PRE-SALE TICKETS
Tickets can be bought online here: Click for Tix
ABOUT URB ALT
URB ALT is Underground Railroad Broadcasting Alternatives, a music/film/visual arts/literary series and media company founded in 1998 to serve the creator and audience seeking unfiltered artistic expression. URB ALT has presented transcendent visuals and revolutionary art by creators such as Funkadelic, Kyp Malone of TV On The Radio, Melvin Gibbs, Arthur Jafa, Cody ChesnuTT, Res Farai Chideya and Dragons of Zynth to enthusiastic audiences throughout the United States, Europe and Canada. URB ALT’s mission to cross-pollinate commercial and avant garde artistic experiences aims to focus artist and audience alike on how creatively expansive and socially resonant pop culture can be.
URB ALT is sponsored by Daisy Rock Guitars, The Sweatshop Rehearsal and Recording Studios, BossTon Communications, BigHead Scientists and Fusicology.
For more info and promo art: www.urbalt.ning.com, www.myspace.com/urbalt, www.myspace.com/muthawit or www.leilaadu.com Also see: Galapagos Events Page
PRESS CONTACTS
4961 Polemics • Marketing • NYC • Atlanta
K’China at 404.313.5341 urbalternative@gmail.com
DARK JOAN PRESS
“Within seven tracks, Leila Adu takes you on an aural journey that most progressive rock albums could only attempt to do. I see this album as a future classic.” Review by John M. Ellison IV
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“Her resplendent soprano delivery of the line “A love that never dies” during this passage of “Wolfmen” ties her to the wonderful vocal legacies of Josephine Baker, Arooh Lemeen, Rosemary Clooney, Ella Fitzgerald and Roy Orbison.” Review by Boston Fielder
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Sheffield Telegraph Interview by Rachel Clegg
“Dark Joan is a tale about an urban Joan of Arc. I was living in Brixton at the time when I wrote this song. The inspiration of this song was the popular image of Joan d’Arc superimposed on contemporary urban London”
Read more…
Leila Adu on Frizz Records ~ UK press by Surface2Air
