New York, NY (Top40 Charts) On
September 4th,
Dirty Projectors will release Super João, a four-song collection written, produced, and performed by Dave Longstreth. Super João marks the third in a cycle of five EPs that
Dirty Projectors are releasing throughout 2020. Longstreth wrote and produced the music, collaborating on lyrics with each of the featured vocalists from the band - Maia Friedman on Windows Open, Felicia Douglass on Flight Tower, and Kristin Slipp on a forthcoming EP. On Super João, Longstreth wrote lyrics with Kyle Field (Little Wings) and recorded straight to tape with his Los Angeles neighbor Kyle
Thomas (King Tuff).
Today, the band has also announced that, in addition to the deluxe boxset, the EP sequence will be sold in one cohesive, twenty-track anthology entitled 5EPs. Available physically and digitally via Domino on November 13th, the same day as the final installment, the evolving and diverse suite of styles and voices brings the full arrival of dynamic new Dirty Projectors.
Using a nylon-string acoustic guitar as his guiding instrument, Super João shows bandleader Dave Longstreth pairing longform melodies with surprising chord progressions to create a mood reminiscent of Arthur Russell, Chet Baker, and - of course - João Gilberto, the Brazilian bossa nova pioneer who died last year. "Super João is a feeling," Longstreth says - one of understated intimacy that serves as 5EPs's quietly confident core.
Dave continues, "This cycle of EPs is about growth, transition, liminal space, shifting identity. Alan Ginsberg had a phrase 'first thought, best thought' to talk about a particular kind of writing - not automatic writing exactly, but quick, spontaneous, trusting. For me, these songs are about rediscovering that place, after the stereo ouroboros of the Ivo Shandor era (Dirty Projectors, Lamp Lit Prose). And I think for us - Felicia, Maia, Kristin, Mike and me - it's about finding it for the first time: playing, writing, learning together as a new band."
Since 5EPs first began with "a symphony of swelling strings and complex harmonies" (PAPER) on the Maia Friedman-fronted Windows Open,
Dirty Projectors have appeared on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, NPR's Weekend Edition, NPR Music's Tiny Desk (Home) Concerts, Adult Swim's Fishcenter and more, while earning praise from Time, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, The Needle Drop and The FADER, among others. Following Windows Open, Felicia Douglass helmed the super-future soul of Flight Tower, delivering performances that were at once "smooth, expressive, and searching" (GARAGE). The group's sound will continue to expand as keyboardist Kristin Slipp takes the microphone on the fourth EP, and again as they all trade verses on the series closer.
5EPs will be available as a standard black double LP housed in a tri-fold jacket, with a clear version exclusive to indie stores, as well as a CD in a tri-fold wallet with a booklet. Pre-order 5EPs here.
The limited edition, foiled and numbered box set will feature five 12" colored vinyl cut at 45rpm, a booklet of art and lyrics, and download card for all five EPs. Pre-order the deluxe box set here.
Super João Track List
Holy Mackerel
I Get Carried Away
You Create Yourself
Moon, If Ever
Flight Tower Track List
Inner World
Lose Your Love
Self Design
Empty Vessel
Windows Open Track List
On The Breeze
Overlord
