Adia Victoria has dropped a new single, “South Gotta Change,” executive produced by T Bone Burnett. Of the track she says, “In 2020 I have watched as the world became irreversibly altered. The upheaval Covid-19 caused has allowed for a sacred pause in our daily life.
During this lapse we lost Congressman John Lewis. In the days following his death I pondered the work he accomplished and the work left to us who remain.
‘South Gotta Change’ is a prayer, an affirmation, and a battle cry all at once. It is a promise to engage in the kind of ‘good trouble’ John Lewis understood necessary to form a more perfect union.
No other place embodies the American experiment with the precision of the South. It is home to both unspeakable horror and unshakable faith. It is up to us, those who are blessed enough to be Southern, to take up the mantle Brother Lewis left us. As the old saying goes, “As the South goes, so goes the nation.”
LISTEN TO “SOUTH GOTTA CHANGE” HERE
Last week Adia participated in a panel discussion, “Black Equity in Americana: A Conversation” which was hosted by the Americana Music Association and moderated by Marcus K. Downling. Other participants included musician Kamara Thomas, Rev. Sekou and Louisiana Red Hot Records’ Lilli Lewis and Muddy Roots Music Festival’s Jason Galaz.
2019 saw Adia Victoria release the critically acclaimed LP Silences (Canvasback) to world-wide critical acclaim. The Songwriters Hall of Fame presented her with the Holly Prize which recognizes and supports a new “all-in songwriter.” She toured the U.S. and Europe on the “Dope Queen Tour” which included a performance on Live From Here with Chris Thile and at Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, the Newport Folk Festival, and a performance at Mass MOCA and Boston Calling. ” Adia Victoria captures the spirit of the blues in a simple phrase,” said NPR, “black genius.” “The songs on ‘Silences’ are mercurial, alluding to old styles only to have them melt down and mutate into something stranger,” said the New York Times, “In her music, the blues is a baseline and a frame of mind, not a genre boundary; it pushes her to take risks.”
Silences was recorded with Aaron Dessner (The National) at his studio in upstate New York. Throughout the album’s 12 tracks, Victoria brings the topics of mental illness, drug addiction, sexism, and all the elements that consume the day-to-day lives of women attempting to make a world of their own.
Order Silences here.
“Silences scans like a biting, lush indie rock record, but it’s a blues album in this pure sense. As she cavorts with and squares off against demons across these dozen tracks, Victoria positions herself as a 21st-century heir to the blues, honoring traditions while eagerly bucking them.” Pitchfork
“Silences, Victoria’s second album, displays a new level of imaginative precision; it’s arrestingly bleak, menacing and wry in turns.” NPR
“Sensationnel.” American Songwriter
“It’s not back-to-basics: extra guitars and other, more elusive sounds thicken the mix, as Victoria gets around to a classic, nonnegotiable demand: ‘Tell me, who do you love?'”
NY Times on “Different Kind Of Love”
“A dark, slinky blues number that lends the Southern gothic sensibilities of Victoria’s previous work a sharper rock edge through fuzzy guitar and spare, tense drums.”
Rolling Stone on “Dope Queen Blues”
Currently climbing the Alternative radio charts, “Post Humorous” will be featured on Gus Dapperton’s forthcoming new album along with previously released track “First Aid,” Orca, out this September 18th via AWAL. The 10 song LP was written and produced by Dapperton, with Spike Stent (Frank Ocean, Lady Gaga, Beyonce) mixing the album. Pre-order is available HERE.
Gus also performed for AV Club’s House Shows, where he gave an exclusive first glimpse of another Orca track “Medicine.” Watch HERE.
