Wednesday, June 4, 2014

My Brightest Diamond's new album out September 16, first single premieres


“Along with her often-gorgeous singing, Ms. Worden presents an ambitious series of arrangements…the songs glow with rumination…”
The New York Times

The new album from acclaimed singer, songwriter and musician My Brightest Diamond (aka Shara Worden) will be released September 16 onAsthmatic Kitty Records (pre-order). This Is My Hand features ten new songs, including the first single “Pressure,” which premiered yesterday atNPR Music and can now be heard/shared here. Of the song, NPR Music praises, “…a stirring song powered by an incredible drumline…one of the most powerful and dramatic voices of the past decade,” while Stereogum proclaims, “…‘Pressure’ is something to be reckoned with. Filled with an army of percussive sounds from big drums to twinkling bells along with shrieking brass and crushing synths, it’s a huge production, but it all sounds small compared to Worden’s operatic voice.” In addition to the full-length album, a separate five-song EP entitled, None More Than You, will be released July 15.

In celebration of the release, Worden will embark on a worldwide tour this fall, including dates at New York’s Bowery Ballroom and L.A.’s The Roxy as well as an appearance at the 2014 Austin City Limits Music Festival. See below for details.  

This Is My Hand was recorded in Berlin, New York, L.A. and Worden's re-adopted hometown of Detroit with producer Zac Rae. Of her inspiration behind the album, Worden comments, “The genesis of the new album was looking at the changes that have happened in music over my career, and trying to reevaluate what it meant to me in the first place: ‘what is the value of music’ is essentially the question. In the States, the marching band is something that is done in school, so it still represents something inclusive, something that anyone can learn. I loved the communal quality and the way that drums and horns travel in large three-dimensional spaces.”

Since debuting as My Brightest Diamond in 2006, Worden has released three full-length albums, including her most recent, 2011’s All Things Will Unwind. Of the album, The New York Times praises, “…she has a keen sense of the dramatic, and a sure understanding of dynamics,” while allmusic asserts, “All Things Will Unwind finds this musical auteur at the top of her game, maturing, pushing her already broad boundaries, and brimming with imagination.”

In addition to her work as My Brightest Diamond, Worden has collaborated and performed with various musicians, artists and filmmakers, including Matthew Barney, Sufjan Stevens, Bryce and Aaron Dressner (The National), The Decemberists, Bon Iver, David Byrne, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Laurie Anderson, Matthew Ritchie, Murat Eyuboglu, Brooklyn Rider and yMusic, among others.

This is My Hand track-listing:
1. Pressure
2. Before The Words
3. This Is My Hand
4. Lover Killer
5. I am Not the Bad Guy
6. Looking At The Sun
7. Shape
8. So Easy
9. Resonance
10. Apparition

None More Than You EP track-listing:
1. Dreaming Awake
2. Whoever You Are
3. Dreams Don't Look Like
4. Dreaming Awake
5. That Point When

MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND TOUR DATES
June 28                                                      Bialystok, Poland                            Poland Halfway Festival
 June 30                                                         Chicago, IL            Millennium Park – Downtown Sound
July 15                                                         Boulder, CO                                Chautauqua Auditorium*
July 30-August 3                                         Becket, MA                      Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival†
August 8                                                 Haldern, Germany                                 Haldern Pop Festival‡
August 13                                                Kilkenny, Ireland                               Kilkenny Arts Festival‡
 September 19                                                Detroit, MI                                                            Music Box
September 20                                               Toronto, ON                                                                   Drake
September 22                                               Boston, MA                                                       The Sinclair
 September 23                                          Philadelphia, PA                                             World Café Live
           September 25                                                New York, NY                                          Bowery Ballroom           
October 3-5                                                   Austin, TX                   Austin City Limits Music Festival
October 10-12                                               Austin, TX                  Austin City Limits Music Festival
October 12                                                    Dallas, TX                                                            The Kessler
 October 17                                             Stockholm, Sweden                               Scandic Grand Central
October 18                                            Gothenburg, Sweden                           Folkteatern Foajebaren
 October 19                                            Copenhagen, Denmark                                                     Loppen
          October 21                                                    Hamburg, Germany                                                     Knust           
October 22                                                    Berlin, Germany                                             Postbahnhof
October 24                                                Brussels, Belgium                                 Botanique Rotonde
October 25                                          Amsterdam, Netherlands              Paradiso Noord-Tolhuistuin
October 26                                                       Paris, France                                                   Bababoum
October 28                                        London, United Kingdom                        Village Underground
October 29                                          Leeds, United Kingdom                      Brundenell Social Club
October 30                                          Glasgow, United Kingdom                                         Oran Mor
October 31                                                   Dublin, Ireland                                      Workman’s Club
December 2                                                     Denver, CO                                           Larimer Lounge
December 3                                               Salt Lake City, UT                                        Urban Lounge
December 5                                                    Portland, OR                                        Doug Fir Lounge
 December 10                                            San Francisco, CA                    Great American Music Hall
       December 12                                            Los Angeles, CA                                                 The Roxy           
December 13                                                 San Diego, CA                                               The Casbah

*Music Mash-up Concert & Party: “Grace, Glamour, and Grit” with Aoife O’Donovan,
Olga Bell and the CMF Orchestra
†“Chalk and Soot” world premiere with Dance Heginbotham and Brooklyn Rider
‡My Brightest Diamond and Death Speaks with Stargaze

 (additional dates to be announced)

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