MUSIC NEWS - It's been three years since Portland, OR-based troubadour M Ward released his last solo album, the much lauded Hold Time , and druing that time he’s toured the globe, released two albums as one half of Grammy-nominated duo She & Him as well as one with the talented group of friends collectively know as Monsters Of Folk.
Now, Merge Records will release Ward’s anticipated sixth solo album, A Wasteland Companion, on April 10, 2012. Inspired by his increasingly itinerant lifestyle Ward set forth to create something of a musical travelogue. He recently explained, “Between now and when I made Hold Time there has been a lot of traveling which requires a lot of reckoning with what to leave behind and what to carry – material and otherwise – and thinking about what I want versus what I need, creatively and otherwise. I wanted to get a reflection of that on the album. It was a process of stripping away my security blanket, which is the same four walls I always record in.”
The album consists of 12 tracks and was made with 18 musicians and recorded in eight different studios in Portland, Omaha, New York City, Los Angeles, Austin and Bristol (UK).
A Wasteland Companion features the talents of M Ward (piano, guitars, voice, production), Mike Coykendall (percussion, bass), Giant Sand’s Howe Gelb (piano), John Parish (percussion, marimba), Bright Eyes’ Mike Mogis (organ), Susan Sanchez (vocals), She & Him’s Zooey Deschanel (vocals), Jordan Hudson (percussion), Adam Selzer (bass), Nathan “JR” Andersen (piano), Scott McPherson (percussion), Sonic Youth’s Steve Shelley (percussion), Dr Dog’s Tobey Leaman (bass), Devotchka’s Tom Hagerman (strings), Oakely Hall’s Rachel Cox (vocals), Amanda Lawrence (violin), John Graboff (pedal steel) and Tyler Tornfelt (bass). The recording utilized eight engineers, including Tom Schick (Rufus Wainwright) and John Parish (PJ Harvey).
M Ward 2012 Tour Dates:
February 2 Los Angeles, CA @ Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
April 11 San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
April 12 Santa Cruz, CA @ The Cocoanut Grove Ballroom
April 13 Indio, CA @ Coachella **SOLD OUT**
April 14 Santa Barbara, CA @ SoHO
April 16 San Diego, CA @ Belly Up
April 17 Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
April 18 Flagstaff, AZ @ The Orpheum
April 20 Indio, CA @ Coachella **SOLD OUT**
May 5 Portland, ME @ State Theatre
May 6 Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
May 7 New Haven, CT @ Toads Place
May 8 Boston, MA @ House of Blues
May 11 New York, NY @ Webster Hall
May 12 Philadelphia, PA @Union Transfer
May 13 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
May 15 Durham, NC @ Duke Performances at Page Auditorium
May 16 Athens, GA @ Georgia Theatre
May 17 Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre
May 22 Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre
May 24 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
Jonathan Richman supports 4/11 - fIREHOSE supports 4/12, 4/16-4/18 - Lee Ranaldo Band supports 5/5-5/22
Comments