WATCH AND SHARE “DO WHATEVER THE HECK YOU WANT” HERE
TOUR DATES BEGIN SEPTEMBER 6
BODIESOFWATER OUT SEPTEMBER 7 VIA COAX RECORDS
PRE-ORDER BODIESOFWATER HERE
“...a joyful summation of their journey.”
- CBC Music (on “Do Whatever The Heck You Want”)
“Rae Spoon is one of the most important musicians working in Canada today.” – Now Magazine
“The mark of a gifted songwriter is the ability to create the most emotion with the fewest notes. Rae Spoon is a master of restraint, conveying both hope and hurt at once through
simple melodies.” – Exclaim!
PHOTO CREDIT : Dave Todon // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
Rae Spoon’s new LP bodiesofwater comes out on the twentieth anniversary of the first show Spoon ever played, and ten years after the release of their break-out album superioryouareinferior. As a non-binary person, Rae is no stranger to having an identity that doesn’t fit societal and legal structures. Like bodies, water is regulated and increasingly commodified, despite being fundamental to life. On this, Spoon’s ninth album, they explore their common ground and connections with the ocean surrounding their Vancouver Island home.
The new video for anthemic album single “Do Whatever The Heck You Want” from director Derek Howard, conveys the message of the song, which is also Spoon’s main life philosophy, “by showing a bunch of non-binary folks and allies taking up space in ways they decide for themselves,” says Spoon. “The director and I thought that because non-binary people face a lot of barriers in healthcare it would be great to reclaim an institutional setting.”
Spoon adds that originally “Do Whatever The Heck You Want” contained “30 F-words, but then my friend Carole Pope said to me ‘You can't have a hit with the f-word in it, Rae’ and so it's now suitable for all audiences.” CBC Music calls the song “a joyful summation of their journey.”
WATCH AND SHARE “DO WHATEVER THE HECK YOU WANT” HERE
Due out September 7 via Spoon’s own Coax Records, bodiesofwater was co-produced by Montreal’s Laurie-Anne Torres (Folly & the Hunter, Land of Talk), and recorded with Torres, respectfulchild, and Terri Upton at The Noise Floor Recording Studio on Gabriola Island. Infectious arrangements of drums, ambient violin, synthesizers, and bass guitar carry the listener through ten new songs highlighted by Spoon’s characteristic layered songwriting. Expansive and hopeful, Spoon’s voice acknowledges the complications and complexity of despair while maintaining a genuine sense of hope and connection.
The album opens with “I Held My Breath”, a song emanating the strength and fragility in confronting sorrow and anxiety. “It’s Getting Close” and “Bioluminescent” explore the apocalyptic possibilities in the current global climate, while the role of politicians in determining the future of the land and sea is confronted in “You Don’t Do Anything”. “Seascape” seeks to destigmatize the methods people use to survive a lack of social support, and the song “In My Town” challenges music and art scenes to better address allegations of sexual violence while supporting survivors. “Undertow” proclaims the advantages of embracing change and “It’s Not in My Body” is about longing for the space to simply exist as a body without constantly negotiating the questions of others. Finally, in “Beach Of Bones” Spoon finds connection with the water, air, and land by experiencing them as living parts of the world in which we are embodied.
PRE-ORDER BODIESOFWATER HERE
MORE ABOUT RAE SPOON
Rae Spoon is an award-winning nonbinary musician and author. They have released nine solo albums spanning folk, indie rock and electronic genres and have toured across Canada and internationally. Rae was the subject and composer of the score for the National Film Board–produced musical-documentary My Prairie Home, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2014. Rae owns and runs an indie record label called Coax Records that has released fifteen albums by Canadian and international artists. They have been nominated for two Polaris Music Prizes, a Lambda Literary Award, and a Western Canadian Music Award.
Rae’s first book, First Spring Grass Fire, was published by Arsenal Pulp Press in 2012. The book was a finalist for a Lambda Award in the Transgender Fiction category and was shortlisted for an Expozine Alternative Press Award. In the spring of 2014, Rae was awarded a Honour of Distinction by the Dayne Ogilvie Prize, presented by the Writers’ Trust of Canada. Rae’s second book, co- written with Ivan E. Coyote and titled Gender Failure, was published in 2014. Gender Failure was on the 2015 Over The Rainbow Reading List and was translated into German. In 2017, Rae also published a manual in the How To Series called How To (Hide) Be(hind) Your Songs detailing their philosophies on music composition.
BODIESOFWATER TRACKLIST
01 I Held My Breath
02 It’s Getting Close
03 Do Whatever THe Heck You Want
04 In My Town
05 Seascape
06 You Don’t Do Anything
07 Bioluminescent
08 It’s Not In My Body
09 Undertow
10 Beach Of Bones
FALL TOUR DATES
Sep 6 - Victoria, BC - Vinyl Envy (Early + Late Show)
Sep 7 - Salt Spring Island, BC - Salt Spring Pride
Sep 8 - Vancouver, BC - Wise Hall
Sep 9 - Prince George, BC - Omenica Art Centre *
Sep 10 - Onaway, AB - Sunrise Gardens
Sep 11 - Lethbridge, AB - Acoustic Owl
Sep 12 - Calgary, AB - King Eddy
Sep 13 - Calgary, AB - King Eddy
Sep 14 - Edmonton, AB - The Aviary
Sep 15 - Swift Current, AB - The Lyric Theatre
Sep 16 - Regina, SK - UR Pride Centre #
Sep 18 - Saskatoon, SK - Underground Cafe #
Sep 19 - Brandon, MB - TBA
Sep 20 - Winnipeg, MB - Goodwill
Sep 21 - Thunder Bay, ON - The Common
Sep 22 - Sault Ste. Marie, ON @ TBA +
Sep 23 - Sudbury, ON - Sudbury Theatre Centre (Matinee)
Sep 24 - Guelph, ON - The Golden Bus
Sep 25 - London, ON - Taproot
Sep 26 - Windsor, ON - Phog (Early Show)
Sep 29 - Toronto, ON - Folk Music Ontario Showcase
Oct 1 - Hamilton, ON - The Tower
Oct 2 - Kitchener, ON - House Concert
Oct 3 - Peterborough, ON - The Garnet
Oct 4 - Montreal, QC - Casa Del Popolo
Oct 5 - Ottawa, ON - 27 Club
Oct 6 - Halifax, NS - Gus’s Pub
Oct 7 - Toronto, ON - Burdock (Early + Late Show)
All shows with respectfulchild plus:
*with Kym Gouchie
# with Homo Monstrous and Ursa
+with Richard Garvey and Vic Horvath