Esperanza Spalding has announced an audacious new project called ‘12 Little Spells.’ In 12 days from now, beginning October 7, Esperanza will release one new spell per day on her website and social platforms until all 12 have been released. Then on October 19, an EP will be released on all digital streaming outlets. The spells come in the form of new music, which was crafted by Spalding at a castle in Italy last month, and then recorded in sessions completed just yesterday in Brooklyn. Each spell will be presented with song-specific imagery and video spells (short films that will accompany each release).
‘12 Little Spells’ finds Spalding conjuring in the medium of musical creation, through an exploration of the body, human energy and healing. Working alongside Esperanza on this project are visual artist Carmen Daneshmandi, opera/theater director Elkhanah Pulitzer, wardrobe specialist Diego Montoya, and video artist Ethan Samuel Young. Each collaborator is creating key elements of ’12 Little Spells’ without hearing any music, having only the project title and spell names as inspiration.
Read a statement from Esperanza on ‘12 Little Spells’ here: https://bit.ly/2QZn7dA
In the coming days, Esperanza will also reveal details of a series of 12 pop-up shows. Each performance will focus on a single spell and feature an explosion of music and words, color and movement. No two events will be the same. The performances will be recorded for a live concert film that will be released next year. Exclusive limited music and items will be available only at these shows, with a full deluxe package to be released by Concord Records in 2019.
‘12 Little Spells’ arrives just one year after ‘Exposure,’ in which Spalding composed and recorded a new album entirely from scratch in just 77 hours, while livestreaming every minute of the process to the world. In 2016 she released ‘Emily’s D+ Evolution,’ which earned her a Pitchfork Best New Music review, inclusion on several year-end critics lists, and appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Late Show, Real Time with Bill Maher and beyond.
‘12 Little Spells’ was composed by Esperanza Spalding. It features Spalding on vocals, Matthew Stevens on guitar, Justin Tyson on drums, Aaron Burnett on saxophone, Burniss Travis on bass, Corey King on background vocals, and Rob Schwimmer on continuum.
‘12 Little Spells’ Tracklist and Corresponding Body Parts
12 Little Spells — Thoracic Spine
To Tide Us Over — Mouth
Until The Next Full — Eyes
Thang — Hips
Touch in Mine — Fingers
The Longing Deep Down — Abdominal Portal
You Have To Dance — Feet
Now Know — Solar Portal
All Limbs Are — Arms
Readying to Rise — Arms
Dancing The Animal — Mind/Brain
With Others — Mind/Brain
