Alabaster DePlume's 'A Blade...' is "stunning" (The Guardian)

ALABASTER DEPLUME TAKES "STUNNING" (THE GUARDIAN) NEW LP ON US TOUR, BEGINNING THIS FRIDAY "ALABASTER DEPLUME MESMERIZES LIVE, BLOWING MINDS WITH FEARLESS ABSURDITY AND RAW EXPOSED FEELING" — UNCUT CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED NEW ALBUM A BLADE BECAUSE A BLADE IS WHOLE  OUT NOW ON VINYL / CD / DIGITAL DOWNLOAD OUT ON STREAMING MARCH 25

Photo by Alexander Massek PRAISE FOR ALABASTER DEPLUME & A BLADE BECAUSE A BLADE IS WHOLE "Stunning...you can’t argue with DePlume’s outstanding melodies." The Guardian "On the British saxophonist and poet’s graceful new album, the reminders to savor each day and to forgive oneself feel less like jazz tunes than wordless hymns." Pitchfork "A cohesive, concise album...the way DePlume morphs one style of music into another is natural, serene, and, well, healing." Brooklyn Vegan "Weaves a tapestry of sounds — spiritual jazz, folk, classical, and beyond — into a potent missive of grace." FLOOD “The Mancunian saxophonist and Jujitsuka dusts himself down and fires up the big strings for an album of fighting songs with healing sounds.” The Quietus “Conjuring chamber-based folk/ jazz collages with a bespoke philosophical twist .. assiduously pushing the boundaries.”  MOJO “Traversing folk-jazz and elegantly-rendered orchestral suites, atmosphere and allegory, DePlume looks inward and confronts his own struggles.” Clash “His singing is murmured, pressurized, prayerful. His self-taught sax is his most distinctive voice, though, at times a shivering, Arabic thing like a quaking ghost, or sinuously sensual and serenely beautiful.”   UNCUT "A brave record that confronts pain while embraces it with humility, acceptance, and vulnerability." AllMusic "Some of his most beautifully stirring work to date." OurCulture "A dense forest of spiritual jazz...hauntingly beautiful." Glide "A simple yet beautifully executed reminder to reflect, find healing and resist vanity." The Skinny

This week, Alabaster DePlume — the acclaimed London-based saxophonist, singer, songwriter, activist, orator, and poet-philosopher — embarks on a 10-date US tour in support of his acclaimed new album A Blade Because A Blade Is Whole, available now on LP, CD, and digital download via International Anthem. The "stunning" (The Guardian) new album is available on streaming on March 25.  As UNCUT writes, "Alabaster DePlume mesmerizes live, blowing minds with fearless absurdity and raw exposed feeling." Live performances will feature an array of special guests, varying on a night-to-night basis. Slated to join DePlume on stage are the likes of multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily (“one of music’s most coveted collaborators,” according to The New York Times), drummer Tcheser Holmes of Irreversible Entanglements, percussionist / multi-instrumentalist Dan Bitney of Tortoise, violinist / vocalist Macie Stewart, drummer Helen De La Rosa, vocalist Monique Golding of Black Monument Ensemble, flutist Rob Frye, cellist Olula Negre, and many more musicians yet to be revealed. All dates will feature supporting sets from saxophonist/composer Patrick Shiroishi. Full tour itinerary below. Last week, DePlume shared "Form A V," the album's enchantingly fierce third streaming single. It's a poetic summoning of inner strength, even against overwhelming odds. As DePlume shares: "At times we can find ourselves maligned or misunderstood by all others, even our closest allies. We can be alone in believing in ourselves, with a feeling that we need others to believe in us, in order to go on. But this is the perfect time to generate our independent faith in ourselves, precisely because it’s the one time we are not supported. In jiu-jitsu we have a practice where the whole dojo stands in the shape of a V, and one person stands facing them. That person is then attacked by each of the others in quick succession, and they deal with it however they can. And so the title is a challenge to the world, ‘go on, form a v – I am ready.’" Listen to "Form a V" and purchase A Blade Because A Blade Is Whole here. As with all of DePlume’s work, A Blade Because A Blade Is Whole is driven by intention. In this case, a desire to interrogate the concept of healing. As DePlume shared with music writer Liz Pelly, who wrote an essay to accompany the album as digital liner notes: “When I meet people who love my work I ask them, ‘what do people need?’ Many of them were answering ‘healing’, so I worked on that, first of all by healing myself. I found that it was an activity I could choose, and that it had a lot to do with my ownership of myself, dignity and independence. Instead of waiting for healing to ‘happen to me’ I could heal myself and own myself. That is what this album is.” Read Liz Pelly’s essay on the album here. Throughout the eleven songs on A Blade Because A Blade Is Whole, DePlume’s reflections on healing, dignity, and struggle are communicated through a stirring assemblage of disparate musics: ghostly and ancient folk melodies, groove-anchored maelstroms of swirling folk-jazz, elegant string arrangements (courtesy of Macie Stewart), disembodied voices, noir atmosphere, and allegoric, troubadouric song. Throughout, Alabaster’s intimate, confessional croon and vibrato-laced tenor saxophone convey, with a startling humanistic touch, everything from dejected fragility to resolute strength. Following these US live performances, DePlume will tour the UK and Europe throughout the spring — see full dates below, more information here. DePlume’s band for the UK/EU tour will feature percussionist Julian Sartorius, drummer Seb Rochford, bassist Ruth Goller, and Mikey Kenney on strings. More guests to be announced. Full album credits here. "Form a V" is out now, stream it here. A Blade Because A Blade Is Whole is out now, purchase it here. TRACKLIST Oh My Actual Days Thank You My Pain Invincibility Form a V A Paper Man Who Are You Telling, Gus Prayer For My Sovereign Dignity Kuzushi Salty Road Dogs Victory Anthem Too True That Was My Garden TOUR DATES March 14 - Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts March 15 - Kingston, NY @ Tubby’s March 16 - New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge March 18 - Washington, DC @ Black Cat March 19 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall March 21 - Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern March 22 - Portland, OR @ Polaris Hall March 23 - San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall March 25 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent March 28 - Knoxville, TN @ Big Ears Festival April 29 -  Norwich, UK @ Norwich Arts Centre April 30 - Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club May 1 - Newcastle, UK @ Gosforth Civic Hall May 2 - Glasgow, UK @ Mono May 3 - Manchester, UK @ Gorilla May 6 - Bristol, UK @ Trinity Centre May 7 - Exeter, UK @ Phoenix May 8 - Southampton, UK @ Papillon May 9 - London, UK @ Hackney Church May 10 - Brighton, UK @ Concorde 2 May 15 - Istanbul, TK @ Salon IKSV May 16 - Warsaw, PL @ Niebo May 17 - Berlin, DE @ XJAZZ! May 21 - Paris, FR @ Le Petit Bain May 22 - Lille, FR @ L'Aéronef May 23 - Brussels, BE @ La Botanique May 24 - Amsterdam, NL @ Zonnehuis May 25 - Nijmegen, NL @ Doornroosje May 26 - Rotterdam, NL @ Bird June 1 - Torino, Italy @ Bunker (Jazz Is Dead) June 7 - Cluj-Napoca, RO @ Jazz In The Park July 2/5 - Roskilde, DK @ Roskilde Festival July 4 - Sete, FR @ Worldwide July 17 - Molde NO, @ Moldejazz Stay connected with Alabaster DePlume: Website | Instagram | Bandcamp | Facebook | Twitter Stay connected with International Anthem: 23 Profile | Website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube