BETH ORTON TO RELEASE FIRST ALBUM IN SIX YEARS, 'SUGARING SEASON,' OCT 2 ON ANTI-
Recorded in Portland, Oregon, with producer Tucker Martine (My Morning Jacket, The Decemberists), the album bears the fruits of a period of introspection & renewal: deeply lyrical songwriting, a newfound expressivity of voice, and, more than ever before, a daring synthesis of her broad musical influences into a powerfully individual artistic vision.
"I stretched myself as a singer on this record and used voices I never have before as a writer," she explains. "A lot of the writing on this record happened in the dead of night, when spiders mend their webs, with an infant asleep in the next room... as a result, my writing became a secret again: illicit and my own." Go here to listen to the new track "Something more Beautiful": http://youtu.be/028lDfUo5MQ See below for fall tour dates, including an Oct 4 performance at NYC's Town Hall and an Oct 23 show at LA's El Rey Theatre.
For 'Sugaring Season," Orton and Martine have brought together a dream band of new and old friends: keyboardist Rob Burger, bassist Sebastian Steinberg, and legendary jazz drummer Brian Blade, along with guitarists Marc Ribot and Ted Barnes and folksinger Sam Amidon. The album was recorded predominantly live on the floor as the band reflected and internalized Beth's disparate inspirations, from Roberta Flack's 'First Take' album to Pentangle's folk-jazz collisions. The songs range across styles from deeply soulful to effortless and breezy, with open-tuned guitars, pensive pianos, and modal grooves underpinning her emotional weathervane of a voice.
While Orton has shifted away from the electronic textures that dominated her early work, her music is still built upon an implicit groove, even if it emanates from her acoustic guitar rather than from a sequencer. "It may not be a 'dance' beat," she says, "but it's definitely there and it's earthed and primal and insistent."
Beth Orton is a BRIT Award-winner and two-time Mercury Prize nominee who has collaborated with Bert Jansch, Emmylou Harris, Beck, Jim O'Rourke, Terry Callier, and Ryan Adams among others. Her last album, 2006's 'Comfort of Strangers,' was called "unerringly lovely" by SPIN and "her most accomplished record to date" by Uncut.
'Sugaring Season' Tracklist 1. Magpie 2. Dawn Chorus 3. Candles 4. Something more Beautiful 5. Call me the Breeze 6. Poison Tree 7. See through Blue 8. Last Leaves of Autumn 9. State of Grace 10. Mystery
Beth Orton Fall Tour Dates: 9/20 - Nashville, TN @ The Belcourt Theatre 9/21 - Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse 9/22 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle 9/24 - Charlottesville, VA @ Jefferson Theater 9/25 - Glenside, PA @ Keswick Theatre 9/27 - Washington, DC @ Sixth and I Historic Synagogue 9/28 - Somerville, MA @ Somerville Theatre 9/28 - Montreal, QB @ L'Astral 9/30 - Toronto, ON @ Virgin Mobile Mod Club 10/4 - New York, NY @ Town Hall 10/8 - Chicago, IL @ Antenaeum Theatre 10/9 - Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom 10/10 - Minneapolis, MN @The Varsity Theater 10/12 - Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre & Café 10/13 - Salt Lake City, UT @ The State Room 10/15 - Seattle, WA @ The Market 10/16 - Vancouver, BC @ Venue 10/17 - Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom 10/19 - San Francisco, CA @ The Regency Ballroom 10/22 - San Diego, CA @ House of Blues-San Diego 10/23 - Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre
Pre-Order 'Sugaring Season': http://bethortonofficial.tumblr.com/
Beth Orton on the Web: http://www.bethortonofficial.com http://www.facebook.com/pages/Beth-Orton-Official/164027750398846 http://www.shorefire.com/clients/borton