Alela Diane returns with new album ‘Cusp‘ out on the 9th of February 2018 on All Points, its the long-awaited follow up to 2013’s critically-acclaimed ‘About Farewell’. She’s also revealed the video for the prescient and haunting lead track ‘Emigré’, watch it below. She tours the UK and Europe early next year check out the dates below too.
“I wrote ‘Emigré’ to process the tragedy of the refugee crisis through the lens of motherhood.” Says Diane “It was written after I saw the photograph of 3 year old Aylan Kurdi washed up on the beach of Turkey. My own daughter was about his age at the time, and it hit close to home, as it did so many others. The chorus sings: “Seabirds fly the salty wind, North to South – East to West, Can we go, as they go, across the borderlines?”
LIVE (UK dates in bold):
27 Jan: Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow (Celtic Connections) – UK
28 Jan: The Mackintosh Church, Glasgow (Celtic Connections) – UK
29 Jan: Vondelkerk, Amsterdam – Netherlands (SOLD OUT)
31 Jan: St. Pancras Old Church, London – UK (SOLD OUT)
12 April: Union Chapel, London – UK
13 April: Vooruit, Gent – Belgium
14 April: Doornroosje, Nijmegen – Netherlands
16 April: Hauskonzerte, Munich – Germany
17 April: Brotfabrik, Frankfurt – Germany
18 April: Heimathafen, Berlin – Germany
19 April: Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg – Germany
21 April: Motel Mozaique, Rotterdam – Netherlands
22 April: Het Zonnehuis, Amsterdam – Netherlands
24 April: Theatre de L’ideal, Tourcoing – France
25 April: Stereolux, Nantes – France
26 April: La Cigale, Paris – France
‘Cusp’ was written in January 2016 in a small cabin deep within snowy woods where Alela resided during a three-week artist residency at Caldera, Oregan, alone for the first time since becoming a mother. A broken thumbnail resulted in Alela’s signature finger-plucking being replaced by songwriting on a grand piano, resulting in the most piano driven album of her career, fueled by that energy that only comes with facing and falling in love with something new.
‘Cusp’ was recorded at Flora Playback, produced by Peter M. Murray and mixed by Noah Georgeson, with the album also featuring contributions from Ryan Francesconi (Joanna Newsom), Rob Burger (Iron & Wine), Peter Broderick, Heather Woods Broderick (Sharon Van Etten), Luke Ydstie (Blind Pilot), and Daniel Hunt (Neko Case).
The weekend that ‘Cusp’ was mixed in Los Angeles, Alela went into labor early causing severe complications with Alela almost dying during childbirth. “I have never felt so grateful to be alive as I do now,” she says. “I hope that by exploring motherhood in song, I can help demand respect for the life givers we are. Talking and singing about the experience of motherhood is not something I can shy away from. It is the essence of who we are as human beings. This album is my version of women’s work.”
When Alela releases ‘Cusp’ in February 2018, it will mark exactly one year since her near-death, new-life experience. “Life and death meet in a cusp,” Alela says. “The two are intrinsically linked. My second daughter was born on the cusp.”
TRACKLIST:
01: Albatross
02: Threshold
03: Moves Us Blind
04: Émigré
05: Never Easy
06: Song for Sandy
07: Buoyant
08: Ether & Wood
09: Yellow Gold
10: So Tired
11: Wild Ceaseless Song
‘Cusp’ is released on 9th February via AllPoints,available on CD/Vinyl/Digitally (catalogue numbers: CD: M6689 | LP: M6690) with the digital version available to pre-order here.
