Alabaster DePlume shares new single "Glass"

ALABASTER DEPLUME SHARES NEW SINGLE “GLASS”  AHEAD OF RECORD STORE DAY EXCLUSIVE DEAR CHILDREN OF OUR CHILDREN, I KNEW: EPILOGUE AVAILABLE AS A RECORD STORE EXCLUSIVE VINYL RELEASE THIS SATURDAY APRIL 18 LIVE SHOWS IN PORTUGAL, BELGIUM AND THE US

Photo by Chris Almeida PRAISE FOR ALABASTER DEPLUME & A BLADE BECAUSE A BLADE IS WHOLE “An album of fighting songs with healing sounds.” The Quietus “Some of Fairbairn’s most powerful work to date." now then “Alabaster DePlume is unlike any artist of today.” Glide  “It’s a rare gift to make an instrument speak, rarer to make it communicate such a vital truth…” Pitchfork "Stunning...you can’t argue with DePlume’s outstanding melodies." The Guardian

Today, London-based saxophonist, singer, songwriter, activist, orator, and poet-philosopher Alabaster DePlume shares "Glass" — the third and final single streaming now from his upcoming EP of instrumentals, Dear Children of Our Children, I Knew: Epilogue. The EP arrives exclusively on vinyl this Saturday, April 18 as part of Record Store Day (streaming in full from May 5) via International Anthem. Listen to “Glass” now and pre-save the EP ahead of its full digital release here. The atmospheric and meditative “Glass” captures a beauty that refuses to be extinguished. Barely pausing for breath, DePlume’s saxophone unfurls with a quiet, relentless insistence, threading  over a steady pulse of bass (by Shahzad Ismaily), drums (by Tcheser Holmes), and a trance-like electronic loop. Of the new single, Alabaster says: “Superheating sand, it melts. It becomes clear, transparent. Hardening, it becomes glass. The glass, we shatter, and it becomes shards. And yet still it manages to shine, in a way. They are transparent. How a human being can endure extremes of brutal punishment, and yet still shine, still be transparent, clear, still refract the light.” The Record Store Day exclusive vinyl LP, out this Saturday, April 18, also includes DePlume’s 2024 EP Cremisan: Prologue to A Blade previously available digitally only and now released on vinyl for the first time. More info about the Dear Children of Our Children / Cremisan vinyl LP via Record Store Day here. (Dear Children of Our Children, I Knew: Epilogue art by Hasan Jawad Abudayyeh, installation and photo by Rich Jones) DePlume recorded Dear Children during the middle of his March 2025 US tour, after weeks of playing shows with Ismaily and Holmes, performing music from his critically acclaimed album A Blade Because A Blade Is Whole (released March 2025). The trio’s onstage rapport was so immediate and strong that, on an off day in Brooklyn, DePlume chose to capture that connection, recording this collection of instrumental pieces shaped by the experience of performing, sharing, and improvising off the music of A Blade for audiences across the US. Speaking about Dear Children, DePlume says: “Meeting with you all at the shows I sensed that you felt voiceless, on this ethical issue that also spelled out what we’re seeing today, in the form of ICE. That experience with you is etched into me, like graffiti or a poster on the wall. It’s my job to deliver your voice, and that’s what this record is. And to take action. That urgency compelled me to record then. And now here we are. As we said, this world is awakening to the reality it was already living.” The two EPs contained on the vinyl release serve as bookends (literally a “prologue” and “epilogue”) for A Blade Because A Blade Is Whole; and as with almost everything that DePlume has put forth in recent years, the connection of both works to Palestine is deep. The Cremisan EP itself was recorded in Palestine. Dear Children incorporates field recordings and samples of children playing and of normal life in the West Bank, and its cover art depicts wheatpaste posters of a drawing made by a 13-year-old boy from Gaza (used with permission). The inscription on the cover art says, in Arabic, “Dedicated to the mother of the martyr/witness Obaida Ahmed al-Qiram. May you rest in peace. From your student, the artist, Hasan Jawad Abudayyeh.” Alabaster DePlume will be performing a live score to the cult film Time of the Heathen in Portugal at the Curtas Vila do Conde International Film Festival and in Gent, Belgium at the 2026 edition of Videodroom during the International Film Festival of Gent. He’ll also be returning to the US to headline the first day of Sound and Gravity festival in Chicago. Dear Children of Our Children, I Knew: Epilogue is out May 5, presave it here. TRACKLIST Bringing Up The Nakba I Play A Role In It And I Know It's Only Now Once (Elbit Systems Windowpane) Glass What Did The Child Say / Facing Reality LIVE DATES Friday July 24 - Curtas Vila do Conde International Film Festival, Porto, Portugal - tickets Thursday September 3 - Sound and Gravity Festival, Chicago, US - tickets Saturday September 26 - Videodroom, Gent, Belgium - tickets   Stay connected with Alabaster DePlume: Website | Instagram | Bandcamp | Facebook | Twitter Stay connected with International Anthem: 23 Profile | Website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube