New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Today, International Anthem announces the August 25 release date of jaimie branch's third and final album with Fly or Die. Titled Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war)). The record arrives just days after the one year anniversary of the iconic trumpeter and composer's tragic passing last summer.
Accompanying the announcement is the first single "take over the world." The anthem begins with branch's words, "Gonna take over the world / and give it back to the land," as avalanches of percussive beats lend the mantra an explosive momentum. It's an overture to a riot that swings from hardcore pit-stirring to a psychedelic manipulation of both voice and time signature, and back again. It's a tune that, while urgent and demanding, comes as no surprise to those who love branch for her deep punk roots and DIY activist mentality.
Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war)) was recorded in April 2022 during branch's artist residency at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Art in Omaha, Nebraska. Backed by her exceedingly sharp and intuitive Fly or Die bandmates — cellist Lester St. Louis, bassist Jason Ajemian, and drummer Chad Taylor — the album finds branch stretching her creative limits and conquering new sonic terrain. Her vocals are more present than ever, whether singing harmonies on a duet with Ajemian on "the mountain" (a stunning reimagining of The Meat Puppets' "Comin' Down") or shouting koans with the intensity of a hardcore singer on "take over the world" — though, as always, the music throughout is undeniably branch's own.
"branch could conjure a world of personal expression with her trumpet, sounding brash and conflagratory one moment, bleary and contemplative the next. What she always conveyed with her horn, in any setting, was an absolute whole-body conviction." - Nate Chinen, NPR Music
"One of the most dynamic trumpet players in contemporary music, she forged a direct emotional, and even spiritual, connection with her listeners." - Mike Rubin, The New York Times
"Her playing bound her music - and her listeners - together. Like her blazing comet-sound, branch leaves us dazzled, but also improved." - Chris Richards, The Washington Post
From the liner notes for Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war)) by branch's Fly or Die bandmates Lester St. Louis, Jason Ajemian, and Chad Taylor:
"jaimie never had small ideas. She always thought big. The minute you told her she couldn't do something, or that something would be too difficult to accomplish, the more determined and focused she became. And this album is big. Far bigger and more demanding - for us, and for you - than any other Fly or Die record. For this, jaimie wanted to play with longer forms, more modulations, more noise, more singing, and as always, grooves and melodies. She was a dynamic melodicist. jaimie wanted this album to be lush, grand and full of life, just as she was. Every time we take a listen, we feel the deep imprint of her all over the music, and we see all of us making it together."
When branch passed on August 22, 2022, the album was near complete, with only mixing tweaks, final titles, and artwork to be finalized. In the months following, her family (led by her sister Kate Branch), her bandmates, and her collaborators at International Anthem banded together to gather memories, texts, emails, photographs, artwork, and fragments belonging to jaimie to finish the record. Their goal was to do what jaimie would have done.
Like its predecessors, Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war)) is an astonishing collision of vibrant color and seismic energy; of cosmic contemplation and skinned-knee physicality; of epic ambition and comedic comedown. It serves as a potent reminder of the vitality and virtuosity of branch, a love letter sent from the beyond by a beloved artist and friend.
At the age of 39, jaimie "breezy" branch had already established herself at the vanguard of modern jazz composition, blurring genre boundaries and performing with an inimitable power that Pitchfork's
Allison Hussey said "connected the focus and intensity of high-concept sound artists with the unbridled joy of living in the moment."
branch was also a tireless collaborator, who worked with samba icon Elza Soares; noise icons Wolf Eyes; indie stars like TV on the Radio,
Yo La Tengo and Spoon; British dub producer The Bug; the First Nations rock collective Medicine Singers; and various International Anthem labelmates, including Jeff Parker, Ben LaMar Gay, and Alabaster DePlume, among so many others. She even made a post-mortem appearance on
Talib Kweli & Madlib's album Liberation 2 released earlier this spring, playing trumpet in a stunning co-composed duet with Madlib on keys.
Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war)):
aurora rising
borealis dancing
burning grey
the mountain
baba louie
bolinko bass
and kuma walks
take over the world
world war ((reprise))
album credits":
jaimie branch - trumpet, voice, keyboard, percussion, happy apple
Lester St. Louis - cello, voice, flute, marimba, keyboard
Jason Ajemian - double bass, electric bass, voice, marimba
Chad Taylor - drums, mbira, timpani, bells, marimba
with special guests:
Nick Broste - trombone (on track 5 & 6)
Rob Frye - flute (track 5), bass clarinet (track 5, 6 & 7)
Akenya Seymour - voice (track 5)
Daniel Villarreal - conga and percussion (track 2, 5, 6 & 7)
Kuma Dog - voice (track 5)
All compositions by jaimie branch; except "and kuma walks" composed by jaimie branch, Lester St. Louis, Jason Ajemian & Chad Taylor; and "the mountain" composed by Curt Kirkwood (originally performed by The Meat Puppets as "Comin' Down").
Recorded at Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts in Omaha, NE, April 25-29, 2022.
Edits, overdubs and mixing at International Anthem Studios in Chicago, IL, July 18-23, 2022. Additional mixing at International Anthem Studios, August & December 2022.
Recorded by: Dave Vettraino
Edited by: jaimie branch & Dave Vettraino
Mixed by: Dave Vettraino &
David Allen
