ACOUSTIC-ELECTRONICA BREAK-BEAT TRIO GOGO PENGUIN ANNOUNCE THEIR HIGHLY ANTICIPATED NEW ALBUM “EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE OK”
SET FOR RELEASE APRIL 14 VIA SONY/XXIM
NEW ALBUM BURSTS WITH NEW BEGINNINGS AFTER PERIOD OF TURMOIL, DEEP PERSONAL LOSS AND MOURNING, BAND’S TEMPORARY SHAKEUP AND RE-FORMATION
EFFERVESCENT NEW SINGLE “GLIMMERINGS” out now
UK-based cinematic break-beat trio GoGo Penguin announce their forthcoming new album Everything Is Going to Be OK (April 14, SONY MUSIC/XXIM Records), a sonically liberated new direction for the band, born of a period of deep personal loss, mourning, and triumph.
The first single “Glimmerings” is released today, a sublime first offering from the new project exemplifying the Gogo Penguin 2.0 era that is beginning. Pre-order the album and listen to “Glimmerings” HERE.
With the optimism of new beginnings – a new drummer (Jon Scott, formerly of Mulatu Astatke’s band joins pianist/synthesist Chris Illingsworth and bassist Nick Blacka), a new record label, (Sony Music’s electronica and neo-classical imprint XXIM Records), and a subtly updated and developed sound, the Mercury Music Prize-nominated band are ushering in a new era with Everything Is Going to Be OK. An inimitable trio with a truly captivating and quasi-magical presence, their music is both transformational and ethereal.
One of the first tracks that was recorded for EIGTBO, “Glimmerings” is exactly as its title suggests: the flickering first moments of something newly created, both literally and metaphorically. Its title, bassist Nick Blacka explains, was inspired by British Professor Anil Seth’s book Being You:
“The word glimmerings stood out when I was reading a book by Anil Seth called ‘Being You’. The book is about the science of consciousness and in the Prologue, he talks about how ‘glimmerings of ideas began to emerge’. It felt like the perfect way to describe the process of thought and creativity. Glimmerings — one of the first songs we started on the new album – started from a small kernel on the synth and over time we added more and more layers until it became something a lot more complex. The idea behind the title is the very beginning, where there is only an idea and an intent to start with, but you have an aim and an idea, and you have to trust in the process.”
Everything Is Going to Be OK was born during a time of turbulence and loss. Recorded in a personally difficult period for the band, which included deep personal loss and mourning– bassist Nick Blacka lost his mother and brother to cancer only months apart, and pianist Chris Illingsworth lost his grandmother– whilst the band also grappled with the departure (albeit amicable) of their longtime drummer. Blacka and Illingsworth drew closer together during this time of loss and upheaval, and welcomed new drummer Jon Scott.
The album studio time offered the band a sanctuary from real life, and the resulting project draws its strength from a shared understanding and empathy, with a truly vibrant and hopeful sonic direction. Life has many great aspects to it and despite the lows, we should be mindful and grateful to celebrate the highs at every turn. Through our hardships, together, we will emerge stronger; everything is going to be ok.
Photo Credit: Veil Projects, Emily Dennison | Download hi-res here
More on GoGo Penguin:
GoGo Penguin is a piano-trio from Manchester, UK. Formed in 2012, the trio’s sophomore album v2.0 was nominated in 2014 for the Mercury Music Prize and in 2016, the trio signed to Blue Note Records, releasing a trio of acclaimed albums: Man Made Object, A Humdrum Star and GoGo Penguin, as well as two EPS and a remix album GGP/RMX. They were Blue Note’s best-selling contemporary instrumental artists and sold over 300,000 albums.
The band composes and performs as a unit and the band members refer to their music as “acoustic-electronica”. Their largely (but not exclusively) acoustic music draws on break-beats, classical influences, jazz, minimalist piano melodies, powerful basslines, drums inspired from electronicaand anthemic riffs.
When describing GoGo Penguin’s music, critics have frequently drawn reference to Esbjörn Svensson Trio, Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Massive Attack, Brian Eno and classical composers Shostakovich and Debussy, or even contemporary minimal music composers such as Philip Glass.
GoGo Penguin have toured extensively internationally, performing at International Festivals such as Coachella, Outside Lands, Fuji Rock, Blue Dot, Montreal Jazz Festival, La Vienne, Pukkelpop, North Sea Jazz and many more and have sold-out venues across the world from The Royal Albert Hall to La Cigalle via Paradiso and Bowery Ball Room. In 2015 the trio debuted its own original score for the cult-film ‘Koyaanisqatsi’, performing the show to ecstatic audiences around the world.
More on XXIM Records:
Pronounced ‘Twenty-One M’ and headquartered in Berlin, XXIM RECORDS is predominantly devoted to innovative, progressive instrumental music, offering a bespoke home to a new generation of artists whose work explores and integrates, among other realms, neo-classical, post-rock, electronic, and ambient sounds. At the heart of XXIM’s ethos lie experimentation and collaboration, with the ultimate goal of providing a solid platform for the creative development of the label’s impressive, international roster of unusually talented musicians. – www.xximrecords.com
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