New York, NY (Top40 Charts) The Soft Pink Truth, aka Drew
Daniel of Matmos, has shared the single "On" from his upcoming album Shall We Go On Sinning So That
Grace May Increase?, out May 1st. Capturing the album's emphasis on beauty in the face of adversity and oppression, the track intermingles gently sliding melodic loops with sweeping, angelic choral turns.
Shall We Go On Sinning... began life as an emotional response to the creeping rise of fascism around the globe, creativity as a form of self-care, resulting in an album of music that expressed joy and gratitude.
Daniel explains: "The election of Donald Trump made me feel very angry and sad, but I didn't want to make "angry white guy" music in a purely reactive mode. I felt that I needed to make music through a different process, and to a different emotional outcome, to get past a private feeling of powerlessness by making musical connections with friends and people I admire, to make something that felt socially extended and affirming." What began with
Daniel quickly evolved into a promiscuous and communal undertaking, the producer drafting in a host of friends and collaborators to add improvised responses to his initial musical sketches.
What began with
Daniel quickly evolved into a promiscuous and communal undertaking. Vocals provided by the chorus of Colin Self,
Angel Deradoorian and Jana Hunter form the foundation of most of the tracks, sometimes left naked and unchanged as with the ethereal opening line ("Shall") or the sensuous R&B refrains on "We", at other times shrouded in effects and morphed into new forms. Stately piano melodies written by Daniel's partner M.C.
Schmidt as well as Koye Berry alongside entrancing vibraphone and percussion patterns from
Sarah Hennies push tracks toward ecstatic and melodic peaks, while rich saxophone textures played by Andrew Bernstein (Horse Lords) and John Berndt are used to add color and texture throughout.
