International Anthem announces Alabaster DePlume's 'To Cy & Lee (IA11 Edition)'

INTERNATIONAL ANTHEM ANNOUNCES IA11 EDITION OF ALABASTER DEPLUME'S TO CY & LEE: INSTRUMENTALS VOL. 1 IN STORES DECEMBER 5 // STREAMING NOVEMBER 13 DEPLUME CONTINUES TOUR ACROSS EUROPE THIS FALL IN SUPPORT OF A BLADE BECAUSE A BALDE IS WHOLE

To Cy and Lee: Instrumentals Vol. 1 is a collection of Mancunian poet, singer, saxophonist and composer Alabaster DePlume’s simple and serenely intimate wordless adventures in melodic ennui. The collection properly introduced the world to a previously under-exposed, undeniably deep dimension of DePlume who, at the time of the album's release, was most known to his followers for his music with words, his poetry, and his prowess as an impassioned orator. His performances (especially those that were part of his monthly Peach residency at Total Refreshment Centre in London) were becoming legendary for blurring the boundaries between secular sermon, theatrical monologue and song, as he turned audiences into experimental large ensembles and led full-throated shout-alongs to tunes like “Is It Enough” and “Be Nice To People” (both from his 2019 Lost Map album The Corner of a Sphere). The instrumental pieces that quietly buffered the big vocal moments of his recorded catalog, to that point, had mostly lived, quietly, in those buffers. We’re not really sure what inspired DePlume to gather all of his recorded instrumentals, add a couple new ones, and invite International Anthem to collaborate on the campaign (they had only recently been getting to know him a little deeper, after their second trip to Total Refreshment Centre in the fall of 2018, when the label recorded jaimie branch’s FLY or DIE II: bird dogs of paradise). But what we do know is, not long after To Cy & Lee’s February 2020 release and the subsequent arrival of a global pandemic, those recordings went very far, very fast, taking on a new life as stay-at-home hits — the quiet catharsis we didn’t know we needed in the face of rapidly unfolding confusion, fear, and isolation. As the people of the world found themselves inside their small rooms, they began to search for smaller, more intentional sounds to fill them. These instrumentals carried the healing qualities we were after then, and still seek now. As  cited on the obi strip, the music is an antidote with seemingly ancient sonic characteristics, and a unique ability to embrace the core of our very being. To Cy & Lee was also the first document of an ongoing collaboration between DePlume and IARC, which has already yielded the albums GOLD (2022), Come With Fierce Grace (2023), and A Blade Because a Blade Is Whole (2025), in addition to sundry singles and EPs. The depth of partnership between DePlume and the label that has developed since To Cy & Lee, coupled with the endlessly quenching spiritual comforts the album continues to provide, makes it an absolute essential of the International Anthem catalog and a proud choice for the final three editions of the IA11 series. In record stores worldwide on December 5th, the IA11 Edition of To Cy and Lee: Instrumentals Vol. 1 comes on classic black 140-gram vinyl LP inside a heavyweight reverse-board jacket, with a 12-page 11x11" insert booklet (including previously unpublished photos and new liner notes by DePlume himself), IARC 2025 obi strip and printed poly-lined inner sleeve. Pressed at Pallas in Germany, with new lacquers cut by Daniel K at SST. Preorder To Cy and Lee: Instrumentals Vol. 1 (IA11 Edition) here.   11 of 11 @ Hungry Brain Chicago In addition to the IA11 Edition releases, as part of the label’s year long IA11 effort (celebrating the 11th year of International Anthem), they’ve been presenting a special event series in Chicago, focusing on a different album from the catalog on the last Monday of every month across 2025 at the Hungry Brain. All the 11 of 11 events have all featured a deep listening of the latest IA11 Edition release, followed by a small group of musicians performing an interpretation of that album. For the next edition, Monday October 27th, they’ll be revisiting Alabaster DePlume’s To Cy & Lee: Instrumentals Vol 1 (IA11 Edition) with a deep listening of the full album. But unlike the usual 11 of 11 program, where musicians perform after the listening… For this one, they’re doing something different. Attendees of the October 27th event will be invited to join in a whistle pack assembly line (inspired by Belmont Cragin United). The goal is to churn out hundreds of bundles with basic tools and educational materials about protecting communities against I*C*E, which they’ll take to distribution points around the city. Tickets are $15-$20. Friends around the world who would like to support this effort are encouraged to buy a ticket to this event as well, because 100% of ticket income will be sent to Organized Communities Against Deportations to assist their ongoing support of migrant families. Even if you can't be there in person, if you buy a ticket for this event they’ll enter your name into a raffle. Winners will get a rare Alabaster DePlume item: either one of two copies of Alabaster's limited edition poetry book Looking For My Value: A Prologue to A Blade (generously donated by David Penn), or one of several copies of Alabaster's long OOP Salty Road Dogs Victory Anthem flexi disc. Please join International Anthem as they try to do their best against the inhuman forces terrorizing the people of Chicago. Tickets available here.   Photo by Andrea Terzuoli Alabaster DePlume on tour Alabaster DePlume continues to tour in support of his recently-released, critically-acclaimed album A Blade Because A Blade Is Whole, traversing Europe in a run of dates across fall 2025. Tickets go on sale this Friday October 24 at 9am local time. October 21, 2025 – Madrid, Spain @ Sala Villanos October 22, 2025 – Barcelona, Spain @ La Nau October 29, 2025 – Berlin, Germany @ 90mil October 25, 2025 – Bologna, Italy @ Locomotiv Club October 30, 2025 – Springe, Germany @ Gut-Bennigsen October 31, 2025 – Hamburg, Germany @ ÜBERJAZZ Festival November 1, 2025 – Schorndorf, Germany @ Club Manufaktur November 2, 2025 – Frankfurt am Main, Germany @ Brotfabrik November 3, 2025 – Luxembourg City, Luxembourg @ Rotondes November 5, 2025 – Brussels, Belgium @ Listen! Festival November 7, 2025 – Utrecht, Netherlands @ Le Guess Who? November 8, 2025 – Da Groningen, Netherlands @ Rockit Festival January 29, 2026 – Rouen, France @ Le 106 February 1, 2026 – Brest, France @ La Vauban February 18, 2026 – Bern, Switzerland @ Bee-Flat February 19, 2026 – Zurich, Switzerland @ Moods Get Tickets.