GHOSTLY KISSES SHARE NEW SINGLE, “OUBLIER”

FOLLOWING “COMME UN SAULE”, DREAM-POP BAND PRESENTS THEIR SECOND FRENCH LANGUAGE SINGLE, “OUBLIER”

WATCH / SHARE “OUBLIER” LYRIC VIDEO HERE

BUY / STREAM “OUBLIER” HERE

Photo Credit : Fred Gervais // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

Ghostly Kisses releases “Oublier”, a second original song in French, written by Margaux Sauvé and Louis-Étienne Santais. Thus far, Ghostly Kisses always wrote in English, a language that has always responded well to Margaux's need to express certain introspective ideas and emotions, almost under some kind of persona. With “Oublier”, she talks about a breakup and wonders if she will be able to move on.

“Oublier” describes the pain and incomprehension towards the situation. Margaux describes her thoughts as she feels completely invisible to the other and wonders if it is possible to heal.

« Et encore je suis là, je me trouve près de toi, mais tu ne me vois pas »
‘And still, here I am, I’m right by your side, nut you don’t see me’

The song hints that she could still be around that person or that the relationship is now completely one-way. She seeks answers to understand what could have happened.

« Comment tout a changé? Tous ces rêves effacés, le mirage est passé »
‘How has everything changed? All these dreams erased, the mirage is gone’

WATCH / SHARE “OUBLIER” LYRIC VIDEO HERE
BUY / STREAM “OUBLIER” HERE

Co-produced by Louis-Étienne Santais and George Fitzgerald, the musical direction of "Oublier" is primarily inspired by UK garage rhythms, all within an ethereal universe characteristic of Ghostly Kisses' sound. If the melody remains sweet and dreamy, the orchestration aims to be a bit more dynamic.

"We emphasized the contrasts between the sections,” explains Sauvé. “For George and me, it was essential that the listener instinctively senses when the most powerful moments in the music arrive. We gradually increase the intensity from the verse to the pre-chorus, and then the chorus provides a release of tension.”

This intention is punctuated by all the electronic tools at our disposal: intertwining synthesizers with sequencers, echoes, and electronic percussion that may vaguely remind some of the electronic music wave played at raves in the late '90s.

“Oublier” Single Art // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

MORE ABOUT “COMME UN SAULE”
Building on the international success of their debut album Heaven, Wait, Ghostly Kisses return with a truly stunning, statement track. Showcasing Margaux Sauvé’s haunting vocals in all their ethereal glory, “Comme un saule” sees her tackle a subject that is both in tune with the spirit of times, and that resonates on a deeply personal level, where the right words could only be found in her mother tongue.

"Comme un saule " describes the thoughts of someone consumed and haunted by the pain and memories of a past toxic relationship,” says Sauvé. “The song also implies that time can act as a solace, which is sometimes necessary to the healing process. Metaphorically, it also implies the wind of change within society. A change is taking place; abusive relationships can no longer stay silent, as well as many taboo topics that are now being more openly discussed and exposed in the public sphere.”

WATCH / SHARE “COMME UN SAULE”
BUY / STREAM “COMME UN SAULE”

Written and co-produced with long-time collaborator Louis-Étienne Santais alongside Thomas Bartlett, “Comme un saule” is a beautiful and powerful blend of organic and electronic elements, inviting the listener into dreamy introspection. The song calls to mind the ethereal universes of Phoebe Bridgers, Tamino or Sufjan Stevens. 

TOUR DATES
NOV 2 - Berlin, DE -  Pitchfork Music Festival
NOV 3 - Reykjavik, IS - Iceland Airwaves 2023

GHOSTLY KISSES ONLINE
WEBSITE
TWITTER
INSTAGRAM
FACEBOOK
TIKTOK
YOUTUBE

ALLISON RUSSELL RELEASES NEW SINGLE, “DEMONS” - NEW LP OUT FRIDAY

LISTEN / SHARE “DEMONS” HERE
BUY / STREAM “DEMONS” HERE

THE RETURNER OUT THIS FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2023 VIA FANTASY RECORDS

PRE-ORDER THE RETURNER

ANNOUNCES FALL U.S. HEADLINING TOUR BEGINNING OCTOBER 13 + VENUS FEST PERFORMANCE IN TORONTO ON SEPTEMBER 21

CANADIAN TOUR DATES CONTINUE NEXT WEEK 

“Allison Russell’s second solo album brings to mind a verse from the Bible: ‘Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.’ After reflecting on her escape from abuse on her 2021 breakout, Outside Child, Russell is celebrating her freedom on The Returner. The album has its heavy moments, but it’s largely brighter — and funkier.” - Vulture

Photo Credit: Dana Trippe // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

Four time GRAMMY-nominated singer, songwriter, poet, activist, and multi-instrumentalist Allison Russell has released her latest single, “Demons” from her highly anticipated new album, The Returner, out this Friday via Fantasy Records.

Allison Russell on “Demons”:
“We all have our demons and there’s no spell to make them vanish for good. I’m not even sure we want such a spell. Demons have their uses. They just don’t get to call the shots anymore—WE PUT EM ON THE BUS BUT WE DIDN’T LET EM DRIVE — that’s what it comes down to. They don’t get to drive, and they can’t steal our joy. And yes that’s an Outkast homage at the end of the song.”

LISTEN / SHARE “DEMONS” HERE
BUY / STREAM “DEMONS” HERE

Previously, Russell shared three songs from The Returner, the title track, "Stay Right Here", and "Snakelife". Russell has also announced a major U.S. headlining tour. The shows kick off October 13th at The Ark in Ann Arbor, MI and wrap up in January of 2024. Highlights include The El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles on November 1st, Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn on November 30th and The Basement East in Russell’s adopted hometown of Nashville on January 11th. Prior to the headlining dates she’ll appear at Bristol Rhythm & Roots Festival, FreshGrass Festival, Farm Aid, XPoNential Music Festival and more. Tickets are on sale now. Full tour dates below.

The Returner was written and co-produced by Allison along with dim star (her partner JT Nero and Drew Lindsay) and was recorded over Solstice week in December 2022 at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles, CA. It features Russell’s “Rainbow Coalition” ensemble: Elenna Canlas, Elizabeth Pupo-Walker, Ganessa James, Joy Clark, Kerenza Peacock, Larissa Maestro, Mandy Fer (Sway Wild), Megan Coleman, Meg McCormick , SistaStrings (Chauntee & Monique Ross) , Wendy & Lisa (Wendy Melvoin & Lisa Coleman aka The Revolution) and Wiktoria Bialic. 

WATCH / SHARE “SNAKELIFE” HERE
BUY / STREAM “SNAKELIFE” HERE

Since the release of her debut solo LP two years ago, Outside Child, Russell’s often devastating, deeply moving, cathartic celebration of survivor’s joy has become one of the most acclaimed albums of the past 10 years. Now comes the second chapter, The Returner, a body-shaking, mind-expanding, soulful expression of liberation, love, and self-respect that serves as a fierce declaration of joy for all survivors that have made it to the other side. Allison, JT, and Drew, built The Returner from the bottom up with a rhythm-first, genre-fluid approach. The improvisational energy of great female artists sparked the album’s fierce joy, and provided a wider canvas for Allison’s immense, unlimited talent. In all, the new album doesn’t just deliver on the promise of the last two years, it exceeds all reasonable (and unreasonable) expectations and affirms Allison Russell’s place among music’s most vital artists⎯and The Returner, as one of 2023’s most essential recordings.

Following a diverse career as a featured member of acclaimed bands including Po’ Girl, Birds of Chicago and Our Native Daughters, Russell finally dared to release her solo project in 2021. "It’s an album of strength and affirmation, not victimization,” said The New York Times in their profile on Russell and Outside Child. Following the album’s release, Russell performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Ellen, Late Night With Stephen Colbert, CBS Saturday Morning, Austin City Limits, The Kelly Clarkson Show made her Opry debut and appeared at the Country Music Hall of Fame and performed at the 2022 GRAMMY’s Premiere Ceremony.

WATCH / SHARE “STAY RIGHT HERE” HERE
BUY / STREAM “STAY RIGHT HERE” HERE

The accolades for Russell have been immense. In addition to her four GRAMMY nominations, she has earned three 2022 Americana Award nominations and a win for Album of the Year, two International Folk Music Award wins, a 2022 JUNO Award nomination for ‘Songwriter of the Year,’ and her first-ever JUNO Award win for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year. Russell received two 2021 Americana Awards nominations, won three Canadian Folk Music Awards, two UK Americana Music Awards, and more. She was recently nominated for Song of the Year and Artist of the Year for the 2023 Americana Awards. In addition, Russell has consistently used her newfound platform to elevate, educate and inspire; curating the history making Once And Future Sounds: Roots and Revolution set for the Newport Folk Festival in 2021 and mobilizing this year’s triumphant Love Rising All-Star benefit concert in support of LGBTQIA+ causes in Nashville - raising over $550,000 and calling national attention to Tennessee’s dangerous anti-trans and anti-drag laws. 

WATCH / SHARE “THE RETURNER” HERE
BUY / STREAM “THE RETURNER” HERE

Russell has also announced a book deal with Flatiron/MacMillan for her debut novel, a memoir based on her life and the material that inspired Outside Child and The Returner.

TOUR DATES
Sept 09 - Bristol Rhythm & Roots Festival - Bristol, TN
Sept 15 - Harvest Music Festival - Fredericton, CANADA
Sept 16 - CityFolk Festival in Ottawa, CANADA
Sept 22 - FreshGrass Festival - North Adams, MA
Sept 23 - Farm Aid - Noblesville, IN
Sept 24 - XPoNential Music Festival - Camden, NJ
Oct 13 - The Ark - Ann Arbor, MI
Oct 19 - Terminal West - Atlanta, GA
Oct 20 - Princess Theatre - Decatur, AL
Oct 21 - Toulouse Theatre - New Orleans, LA
Oct 25 - 3TEN ACL Live - Austin, TX
Oct 28 - The Lensic - Santa Fe, NM 
Oct 29 - MIM Music Theater - Phoenix, AZ
Nov 01 - El Rey Theatre - Los Angeles, CA
Nov 04 - Sweetwater - Mill Valley, CA
Nov 05 - The Center for the Arts - Grass Valley, CA
Nov 07 - Hult Center for the Performing Arts - Eugene, OR
Nov 09 - Mississippi Studios - Portland, OR
Nov 10 - Admiral Theatre - Bremerton, WA
Nov 11 - Tractor Tavern - Seattle, WA
Nov 13 - The State Room - Salt Lake City, UT
Nov 15 - Boulder Theater - Boulder, CO
Nov 16 - Bluebird Theater - Denver, CO
Nov 17 - Roaring Fork Sessions - Aspen, CO
Nov 29 - World Cafe Live - Philadelphia, PA
Nov 30 - Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY
Dec 02 - Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts - Katonah, NY
Dec 03 - Infinity Hall Hartford - Hartford, CT
Dec 07 - The Sinclair - Cambridge, MA
Dec 08 - Portland House of Music - Portland, ME
Dec 09 - Levon Helm Studios - Woodstock, NY
Jan 11 - The Basement East - Nashville, TN
Jan 13 - Sheldon Theater - St. Louis, MO
Jan 14 - Thalia Hall - Chicago, IL
Jan 16 - St. Cecilia Music Center - Grand Rapids, MI

DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

THE RETURNER TRACKLIST
01 Springtime
02 The Returner
03 All Without Within
04 Demons
05 Eve Was Black
06 Stay Right Here
07 Shadowlands
08 Rag Child
09 Snake Life
10 Requiem

NOTES ON ALLISON RUSSELL’S THE RETURNER
By Hanif Abdurraqib

The book I loved most as a child was The People Could Fly, Virginia Hamilton’s book of black folktales about not only escape, but the brilliance of life beyond whatever was left behind. The cover, a group of black folks in colorful headscarves and tattered but well-fitting suits, ascending beyond the clouds, into a sky that was blue, and tilting towards orange. It is what some would consider to be a children’s book, or a book suited for a child’s imagination. But the child’s imagination is not far from where we, grown folks in an ever-burning atmosphere, return to. Another escape, if you will.

I believe Allison Russell to be a writer in many traditions, but I am now, upon sitting with the beauty of The Returner, considering Russell in the tradition of Virginia Hamilton. Hamilton, a black woman writer who understood the urgency of the times she was living in and responded in an urgent fashion. Urgency, not in a sense of frantic output, or exhortations of chaos. But urgency in building a different version of events and bringing as many people into the world as possible. Whoever wants to come along is welcome to come along. 

While I hesitate to say that anything comes easy to a writer, but it does feel especially challenging to situate oneself in the present. The past is a place rich with both the fluorescence of nostalgia and the challenges of our own memory, and the future is, to some degree, unknown. Can be written by us as we tumble towards it. The Returner is an achievement for how it sits, firm and unflinching, in the present, or in a space that demands the present be something beyond simply discomfort. I take seriously the charge of song lyric-as-poetry, which is one way of saying that while I do like the idea of the lyric overrun with literary devices, it doesn’t do as much for me if the devices aren’t grounded in some kind of narrative blooming. Allison Russell is, in my mind, a writer’s writer. It is wonderful to read and apply what one loves about literature to the work of a song, but it is another thing to think of the song as a piece of literature, the two inextricably linked in both approach and execution. And so, a song like “Eve Was Black,” wherein the biblical callback goes a step further, channeling an origin story of rage, of dismissal, reformatting of a holy text to map it upon present tension. 

On Outside Child, Russell’s heavily lauded 2021 debut solo effort, there was a reckoning with all that her past self-made it through. It was a daring, brave album. One where the speaker in the songs is both child and survivor, looking back on the child’s life. And, still, for all of Outside Child’s bravery, The Returner rises to an equal challenge of brave ambition. After not only presenting that history of a self to the world, but untangling it on her own, Russell made an album that brings her back to her present self. One that delights in her present self. And album that is abundant in scope, in color (sonic color and vocal color, but also, very plainly, in its stunning album cover,) and abundant in possibility for a variety of next turns. 

I am overjoyed by the act of communal singing, and even more so when it just so happens to be black folks in communion doing the singing, shouting, clapping, stomping, and whatever else moves them to make noise. The Returner, for all of its gifts, is an album that feels like an invitation, the way walking by a loud, boisterous church service where the praise and worship spills out into the sidewalk might seem like an invitation, even if you aren’t the churchgoing type, but you just don’t want to miss a good time, a loud time. This is an album of beautiful, holy noise. You can hear individual notes of laughter, you can hear each individual voice reaching for the next individual voice to link hands with and ascend. 

I am not much of a fool for optimism, but I am always seeking some optimisms within very specific truths. One of those being how do we, as people, pour generously back into ourselves in the midst of a world, a time, an ongoing era that takes and takes, relentlessly. It happens in small bursts, I think. Short paths, maybe, but wide ones. That’s where freedom lives. A place where you have survived and what you survived isn’t left behind, but it also isn’t the burden it once might have been. How fitting, that the album begins with the luminous “Springtime,” Russell singing so long / farewell / adieu adieu / to that tunnel I went through. And from there, light floods in. 

ALLISON RUSSELL ONLINE
WEBSITE
TWITTER
FACEBOOK
INSTAGRAM
YOUTUBE

FANTASY RECORDS 

TERRA LIGHTFOOT SHARES NEW SINGLE FROM UPCOMING ALBUM

WATCH / SHARE “SOMEONE ELSE’S FEELINGS” HERE
BUY / STREAM “SOMEONE ELSE’S FEELINGS” HERE

TERRA LIGHTFOOT’S NEW LP, HEALING POWER, OUT OCTOBER 13, 2023 VIA SONIC UNYON RECORDS

NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES BEGIN SEPTEMBER 26 - FULL DATES BELOW

PRE-ORDER HEALING POWER HERE

“One of Canada's best all-around musicians... an amazing tour de force,
the complete package” - CBC Music

“Canada’s Terra Lightfoot has a huge voice and a big and gutsy
guitar tone to match“ - Guitar Player

“Cuts like lightning to a tree” - The Globe and Mail

“One of today’s brightest emerging rock artists” - Twangville

“Drawing from rock, soul and blues, Terra Lightfoot is a monster talent” - PopMatters

DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

This October, celebrated songwriter and guitarist Terra Lightfoot will release her new album, Healing Power, via Sonic Unyon Records. Today, she’s following up the LP’s debut single, “Cross Border Lovers”, with “Someone Else’s Feelings”, a song Terra wrote in England during Americanafest UK. “I remember standing in a room full of songwriters and someone was talking about doing an upcoming Bob Dylan tribute night, and they said ‘Isn’t it just so easy to sing someone else’s feelings?’” she says. “I excused myself and went to an old cemetery across the road from the venue, and the song fell out amongst a few British teenagers who were up to no good nearby. (They left me alone, though.) ‘Someone Else’s Feelings’, to me, was written about how we sometimes let other people’s opinions and feelings dictate how we feel about a situation. Sometimes we make excuses for other people, or we don’t speak up when we know someone is saying something we don’t agree with. The phrase in the last verse ‘Hung that picture in the hall’ is about how we sometimes carry other people’s opinions and words with us into our own worlds, and sometimes hold them in higher regard than our own emotions.”


WATCH / SHARE “SOMEONE ELSE’S FEELINGS” HERE
BUY / STREAM “SOMEONE ELSE’S FEELINGS” HERE

DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

MORE ABOUT HEALING POWER
Healing Power Lightfoot showcases her considerable clout as a pop songsmith, delivering a dozen stunning tracks that together represent a career high. The album is her third outing with producer Gus van Go, and it is tribute to her creative ambitions and capacity that the collaboration is yet another quantum leap in her artistic development.   

“There was a sense of freedom, both personally and creatively, that struck me while I was writing this record,” Lightfoot says. “Once I got back into the studio with Gus, having already made two records with him, there was an undeniable comfort and workflow that we just fell into. We are super-productive together in the studio. I also seem to get my best vocal takes with Gus behind the board. We built this record pretty quickly together with the band on call whenever we needed them.”

The album delivers the peerless pop-rock album that fans have long known that she always had in her. The set captures the crackling chemistry of the core live trio — most of the album finds Lightfoot backed by bassist Elijah Abrams and Blue Rodeo’s Glenn Milchem on drums. This compact and capable team of players reinforces the strengths of Lightfoot's remarkable material. From hand-clapping head-turner “Cross Border Lovers” through the cinematic ballad “Out Of Time” that closes it, Lightfoot’s artistic range is again on full display, and her musical talents never short of dazzling. A buoyant pop-rock record at its core, Healing Power is a prismatic tour de force from the charismatic rocker.  

WATCH / SHARE “CROSS BORDER LOVERS” HERE
BUY / STREAM “CROSS BORDER LOVERS” HERE

MORE ABOUT TERRA LIGHTFOOT
The infectious single is only the latest in what fans will agree has been a remarkable career. And to describe her decade-plus musical evolution as astonishing is something of an understatement. Along the way, Lightfoot's marathon tours have touched down in eight countries across four continents (including support slots for Bruce Cockburn, Blue Rodeo, Toad the Wet Sprocket, The Posies, The Sheepdogs, and Willie Nelson). She also conceived, created, curated, produced and co-headlined The Longest Road Show, an all-female touring revue. In October 2020, Lightfoot released Consider the Speed, recorded by Grammy Award winning producer Jay Newland at Memphis' legendary Royal Studios. In early 2022, Lightfoot launched her own label, Midnight Choir, with a cover of Leadbelly’s “Where Did you Sleep Last Night?” and fan-favourite original composition, “Sleepyhead”, covered by Sarah Blackwood of Walk Off The Earth. 

DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

 HEALING POWER TRACKLIST
1. Cross Border Lovers
2. Need You Tonight
3. Long Way Down
4. Someone Else's Feelings
5. Kept You In My Pocket
6. The Only One Of Your Kind 
7. Come Back Around
8. Anyone But Me
9. Fired My Man
10. Penchant For Love
11. You Don't Get Me Now
12. Out Of Time

TOUR DATES
2023.09.26 • Calgary, AB @ Commonwealth Bar & Stage ∆
2023.09.27 • Edmonton, AB @ The Starlite Room ∆
2023.09.28 • Saskatoon, SK @ Broadway Theatre ∆
2023.09.29 • Winnipeg, MB @ Park Theatre ∆
2023.10.06 • Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom †  
2023.10.07 • Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom †  
2023.10.13 • Prescott, ON @ Festival of Small Halls  
2023.10.14 • Seeley's Bay, ON @ Festival of Small Halls  
2023.10.18 • Dallas, TX @ Sundown at Granada ∆
2023.10.19 • Austin, TX @ Parish ∆
2023.10.21 • Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room Highland Park ∆
2023.10.22 • Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy & Harriet's ∆
2023.10.24 • San Francisco, CA @ Bottom Of The Hill ∆
2023.10.26 • Portland, OR @ Polaris Hall ∆
2023.10.27 • Seattle, WA @ High Dive ∆
2023.11.30 • Peterborough, ON @ Market Hall
2023.12.01 • Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern
2023.12.02 • London, ON @ Aeolian Hall
2023.12.03 • Windsor, ON @ Meteor
2023.12.07 • Paris, ON @ Dominion Telegraph
2023.12.08 • Napanee, ON @ Doghouse Studios
2023.12.09 • Ottawa, ON @ Rainbow Club
2023.12.10 • Montreal, QC @ Casa Del Popolo
2023.12.14 • St. Catharines, ON @ Warehouse
2023.12.15 • Cambridge, ON @ Farm League
2023.12.16 • Hamilton, ON @ Bridgeworks 

∆ supporting Ariel Posen
†  supporting 54•40

TERRA LIGHTFOOT ONLINE
WEBSITE
FACEBOOK
INSTAGRAM
TWITTER
TIKTOK