Shabaka Readies New Album to Launch His Own Record Label

"Shabaka Hutchings, the former Sons of Kemet and Comet Is Coming musician who has since gone solo and mononymous, will release a new album on a new label on March 6. The inaugural release of Shabaka Records, Of the Earth, is partly inspired by D'Angelo's Brown Sugar, and you can hear two new songs from it below: "A Future Untold" and "Marwa the Mountain.""

"'Brown Sugar was the first CD I bought and it sparked a lasting curiosity about the emotional possibilities allowed by the self produced and performed album,' Shabaka said. 'This record is my celebration of freedom in creative self expression. Before the pandemic I could only play the clarinet and saxophone and knew nothing about music production (or how to play the flute), so this has been a journey of learning and a reflection on the music that's been created as a result.'"

Of the Earth, the inaugural release on Shabaka Records, will arrive March 6 and features two preview tracks, "A Future Untold" and "Marwa the Mountain." The album draws inspiration from D'Angelo's Brown Sugar and emphasizes creative self-expression through self-produced performance. A U.S. run includes Solar Myth Philadelphia, New York's Knockdown Center, and the Big Ears festival in Tennessee, where performances include a solo set and a collaboration with Thurston Moore. The project reflects a recent instrumental shift from clarinet and saxophone toward the flute and follows the 2024 LP Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace and the late 2024 EP Possession.

Read at Pitchfork