JIM CAMPBELL: SCATTERED LIGHT sculpture in Madison Square
Tag: leila adu
“You must realize that you have the right to love beauty. You must prepare to live life to the fullest extent… Listening can be one of the greatest pleasures. You must learn to listen because by listening you will learn to see with your mind’s eye. You see, music paints pictures that only the mind can see. Open your ears so you can see with the eye of the mind.”
— Sun Ra
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(sleeve notes to Sun Song, as quoted in Forces in Motion ‘The Music & Thoughts of Anthony Braxton’ by Graham Lock)
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Stardate 2011
3 + 3 + 4 = 1
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Hot off the Press
Interview — The Fashion Cult
“The BeatStylist recently had the pleasure of chatting with singer/songwriter/composer/musician Leila Adu, whose fourth album Ode to the Unknown Factory Worker is out now…”Themes are along the lines of our current armageddon/global disaster zeitgeist, portrayals of women, consumerism and good ol’ attraction and loving woes.”” Read full interview at The Fashion Cult
[photo Leon Dale, styling Eighty Jane]
Review — Italy’s premiere Alt Rock & Experimental Magazine ‘Blow Up’
“This new work recorded for Rai Trade’s beautiful Tracce series, sees her [Adu] in almost total solitude (in four songs she is joined by Daniele de Santis on drums) and comes to grips with a singer-songwriter with extremely sparse piano and vocals yet rich with off-kilter digressions. Splinters of folk, of blues but also hypnotic and ghostly prog [absit inuria verbis!] that move away from the more popular terrains and put her in a personal sphere with which you want a little time to familiarize yourself. Fascinating when you become attuned to it. (Click photo for full review in Italian)
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Ode to the Unknown Factory Worker
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.
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As Autumn Leaves
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
