WATCH / SHARE “GOOD FOR US” HERE
BUY / STREAM “GOOD FOR US” HERE
NEW ALBUM, MOODY31, OUT APRIL 29, 2022 VIA NEXT DOOR RECORDS
PRE-SAVE MOODY31 HERE
Photo Credit : Joshua C. Rille // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
In Moody31, the latest album from Toronto’s Lydia Persaud, brings a full spectrum of emotion. Shimmery runs fall alongside precise enunciations that slightly quiver on pitch. A singer with daring range, she stretches words – subtly melismatic, smooth, slantly gospel – to their full emotional capacity. Out April 29 via Next Door Records, her sophomore record remodels a multitude of influences into a dynamic and harmonious original. Described by producer Scott McCannell as “Roberta Flack sitting in with Bill Withers' band at a folk festival,” Moody31 recombines jazz, R&B, and folk stylings to create soul music in its most literal sense.
Today, Persaud is sharing the first single from the upcoming album, “Good For Us”, a track which she wrote while on tour in Halifax, NS. “Funny thing about bad communication when you’re away from home is, you can decide to sit by the phone or be present and go outside,” says Persaud. “The song definitely captures the moment of deciding to go outside and recognizes that space was what we both needed at the time. Somewhere along the way ‘Good For Us’ became a celebratory anthem outlining the importance of space and self reflection in order to make room for clarity. Kyla Charter and James Baley had outlined the chorus background vocals while they were singing backup for me at live shows. I had them take a break during this tune because I didn’t have vocal parts arranged yet, while the band and I played I could see them side stage dancing along and echoing ‘good for us’. Listening back to the echoing parts now feels like a group of friends offering support and words of wisdom. I remember sitting in Scott McCannell’s basement studio to re-record ‘Good For Us’ for the album. I was introducing him to Christine Bougie as the guitarist for the album and at the time this felt like a real moment, given that the family was tight. Scott, Ben McDonald, Chino De Villa, and I had put a lot of musical and emotional energy into the dynamic that was the 4 of us. Now that Christine was in our midst, being the legend that she is, Scott was both excited and protective of the music that we had so carefully created together. Obviously it was a perfect match. Not only was Scott blown away by Christine’s insane ability to create melody lines that fit so perfectly and tightly within the groove, but she bought her nylon guitar that was able to fill out the frequencies that my baritone ukulele always lacked.”
On the video, Persaud says, “My art director, Josh Rille and I wanted to keep things minimal and cute for ‘Good For Us’, filming everything on iPhones while giving the Super 8 film feel. The song is about taking care of ourselves and knowing when to choose freedom from spaces that no longer serve us. I was very thankful to capture laughter and joy amongst the people that make me feel very loved, as it puts a spotlight on the energy we should be giving and receiving.”
WATCH / SHARE “GOOD FOR US” HERE
BUY / STREAM “GOOD FOR US” HERE
“Good For Us” Single Artwork // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
MORE ABOUT MOODY31
It’s tempting to want to deconstruct her amalgam into its distinct parts, tracing each track’s reference points and divergencies. On “Let Me Be There For You” homage is paid to the beautifully haunting background vocals of Motown legend Mavin Gaye, while the ukelele fingerpicking on “Think Of Me” is approached with the lyrical sensitivities of a storyteller. Without fidelity to a single source of inspiration, Persaud’s arrangements are kaleidoscopic: layered sounds that mimic the prismatic moods of the album. It’s here that brokenness, loss of identity, and glorified independence commingle with self-assurance, acceptance and new beginnings.
“I Got You” is a bouncy love-letter to oneself, while “Words For Her” is fraught with the anticipation of saying ‘I love you’ for the first time in a blossoming romance. This is a summer album, with Persaud’s honeyed tone warming each track, but one that complicates the expected feel-good nature of the season. Imagine riding your bike through the city on a near-perfect July day, on the heels of a recent heartbreak.
The title track “Moody31” is a surprising instrumental strip-down: diminished and major 7-chords fall alongside lush yet anguished vocals. The effect is a deep vulnerability crossed with absolute self-possession. It’s these antithetical desires that cut to the core of Moody31: to love and be loved without losing oneself in the process.
Persaud met producer and bassist Scott McCannell of Safe Spaceship Music in 2019. “Scott and I shared the same desire to create something new while preserving the classic warmth of the 70s soul and jazz sounds we love.” The two began compiling a collection of demos that eventually became Moody31. “The baritone ukulele was the foundational instrument I used to write the record,” Persaud says. “I would teach Scott a new song, and, to avoid perfectionism, we would record a rough demo while the song was loose and fresh.” With all the bed-tracks recorded in one room, the songs have a live, jazz-combo quality. Kyla Charter and James Baley’s backing vocals are full of disco-esque call-and-response, while Chino de Villa’s steady drums lend heartbeat from start to finish.
PRE-SAVE MOODY31 HERE
MORE ABOUT LYDIA PERSAUD
A fixture of Toronto’s music community and a sought-after collaborator, Persaud has had a colourful decade performing to small clubs with her jazz project (2012 - 2016), to crate diggers with The Soul Motivators (2011-2015), to folkies at festivals with The O’Pears (2013-2019), and to rock nostalgics with Dwayne Gretzky (2017-present). She’s shared the stage with Lee Fields, Richard Bona, David Crosby, Gordon Lightfoot, Jackie Richardson, Divine Brown, and Justin Nozuka, among many others. She’s also a member of the Queer Songbook Orchestra, and host of the upcoming docuseries, New World Beat.
“After ten years of playing music, I’m beginning to bring my multiple experiences into what I’m doing. I make music to honestly connect with others who might feel the same way. I hope Moody31 celebrates and validates the human experience in all its contradictions: how new love can be experienced alongside deep loss, how one can crave solitude and connection, simultaneously. It’s beautiful to embrace all of our moods - it’s living.”
MOODY31 TRACKLIST
01 Good For Us
02 I Got You
03 Think Of Me
04 Moody31
05 Unsung
06 Words For Her
07 Let Me Be There For You
08 Outro
