Harpist and composer Brandee Younger has announced her new album Brand New Life, marking the followup to the Grammy-nominated artist’s major-label debut.
The album is inspired by Dorothy Ashby, the iconic harpist who is widely credited with having asserted the harp’s place in contemporary music and whose lasting influence has appeared across genres including jazz, hip hop and R&B.
Produced by Makaya McCraven, Brand New Life combines original works by Younger and select reinterpretations of Ashby’s work, including previously unrecorded compositions.
Listen to “You’re a Girl for One Man Only” below:
“Creating this album has been a longtime dream of mine,” Younger says. “I really had a lot of living to do before being able to execute it, genuinely. The finished product is truly representative of where I am now and it is an honour to convey that through the compositions of one of my heroes.”
Brand New Life includes features by McCraven, Meshell N’degeocello and Mumu Fresh along with collaborations with Pete Rock and 9th Wonder.
The album follows 2021’s acclaimed Somewhere Different, which earned a Grammy Award nomination for best instrumental composition for the song “Beautiful is Black” and was named one of JAZZ.FM91’s top albums of the year.
Here’s the track listing:
- You’re a Girl for One Man Only
- Brand New Life (feat. Mumu Fresh)
- Come Live With Me (Interlude)
- Livin’ and Lovin’ in My Own Way (feat. Pete Rock)
- Running Game Intro
- Running Game
- Moving Target
- Dust (feat. Meshell N’degeocello)
- The Windmills of Your Mind (feat. 9th Wonder)
- If It’s Magic
Brandee Younger’s Brand New Life is out April 7, 2023, via Impulse.
