{"title":"Dawn Richard and Spencer Zahn","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDawn Richard is a singer, songwriter, and producer known for her unique blend of R\u0026amp;B, pop, and electronic music. With a career spanning over a decade, she has released several critically acclaimed albums and collaborated with industry heavyweights such as Diddy and Danity Kane. Her innovative sound and powerful vocals have earned her a dedicated fan base around the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSpencer Zahn is an accomplished bassist and composer who has made a name for himself in the jazz and experimental music scenes. With his virtuosic playing style and knack for pushing boundaries, he has become one of the most sought-after musicians in the industry. Whether performing solo or collaborating with other artists, Zahn's music captivates listeners with its intricate melodies and rich harmonies.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBoth Dawn Richard and Spencer Zahn are true artists who continue to push the boundaries of their respective genres. Their passion for creating unique sounds that resonate with audiences sets them apart from their peers. Explore their discographies on our e-commerce website to discover their groundbreaking music.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"pigments","title":"Pigments","description":"\u003cp\u003eMerge Records release \u003ci\u003ePigments\u003c\/i\u003e, the debut collaboration between New Orleans electro-revival dynamo Dawn Richard and multi-instrumentalist, producer, and composer Spencer Zahn. \u003ci\u003ePigments\u003c\/i\u003e is a project about the power of self-expression through living art, through motion. It’s also a love letter to New Orleans, Louisiana. Not strictly classical, jazz or ambient electronica but rather a body of “movements,” it is an expressive soundscape that is an immersive passage through the city as seen through the eyes of a young Black girl with dreams to paint her future with the pigments given to her.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRichard explains: “Spencer wanted to create one long piece of music that would ebb and flow around my lyrics and emotions, which tell a story of growing to love my own skin. I wanted my voice to be moss surrounding the roots of Spencer’s compo- sitions, never forcing the moment to fill every space but rather reveling in the openness of thought and breath.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eZahn agrees, saying, “I wanted to work with all these different textures, tones, and colors to have a new sound to frame Dawn’s voice and lyrics. To hear a lone clarinet as the breath fades and a cello continues its melody to cue Dawn’s vocal entrance is unlike any other record she has made. These are things that excite me as a composer but more as a listener. I hope that other listeners feel the same.” Coming on the heels of Dawn Richard’s critically acclaimed Merge debut \u003ci\u003eSecond Line, Pigments\u003c\/i\u003e introduces listeners to a different facet of Richard’s outrageous talent and bring Zahn’s thoughtful creativity to a new audience.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Merge Records","offers":[{"title":"White | LP","offer_id":50405500485963,"sku":"1165779","price":23.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP","offer_id":50405500813643,"sku":"1165776","price":23.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50405501337931,"sku":"1165775","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/d8f620f5-2d33-42b3-aab5-90d90b9fd072_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726578415"},{"product_id":"statues-4","title":"Statues","description":"\u003cp\u003eSpencer Zahn's latest collection is a return to the hushed palette of solo piano lyricism. This focused sparseness comes after the sprawling, lushness of his critically acclaimed 2022 album, Pigments with Dawn Richard. Living life centered around composition, Zahn sets aside a window each day to commune with the piano, to find beauty in details. Statues | is the first chapter of an ambitious double-album. The second instalment, Statues Il, will follow this fall and be accompanied by a gatefold vinyl, designed by longtime collaborator Hana Tajima. Certain pieces were conceived in advance, while others were born from improvising along with various favorite recordings, finding “compositions in the holes of music I love!” Zahn cites the instrument itself as a central muse - “upright piano conjures a certain mood. The results are delicate, nimble silhouettes of melody and reverie, set adrift on a crisp breeze. Aside from “Lawns” an interpretation of a tune by California pianist Carla Bley the collection’s other eight tracks are all originals, yet they share a sense of soft-lensed classicism that feels uniquely out of time. Nothing dates the contemplative beauty of “Snow Fields” or “Lullaby For My Dog;” their watercolor landscapes of piano, resonance, and room tone could pass for a lost gem from the ECM catalog anytime in the past four decades. Zahn's touch skews neither showy nor retrograde, conjuring instead the ageless elegance of Satie, Jarrett, Sakamoto, and beyond. This is music of clarity and craft, unpolluted by passing fads or distractions, guided by the quest for poignancy and a deep purity of motive: \"When composing solo, | always ask myself, \"Would | want to listen to this? Does it move me? Does the emotion come through?” The second half of Spencer Zahn's contemporary opus, Statues, was actually completed before the first, working out of his home studio in Kingston, New York. Recording voice memos of his Yamaha CP-70 electric piano, Zahn collaborated with Tyler Gilmore AKA BlankFor.ms in capturing vignettes of the material as tape loops, then sharing them with a network of musicians to explore further. The resulting arrangements are rich, restless, and reflective, inspired by the transportive productions of Jon Hassell and Harold Budd. Echoing the spirit of their work, these seven compositions unfold in hybrid tapestries of performance and post-production, texture and movement, form and freedom, forever in flux. Zahn encouraged his collaborators to maintain their own voice while improvising on the recordings. With nothing set in stone, a healthy amount of editing to the improvisations shaped the compositions. Hints of synthesizer seep between silences; fragments of different sessions emerge and overlap; horns are reharmonized, then set aloft like paper lanterns; tunings wobble up or down an octave, embracing the malleable, the liquid, the hope springing eternal. Zahn's vision is fluid, but grounded by heart: \"Emotionally, this music is a longing of sorts”. Construction-wise, Statues Il is a puzzle, pieced together from fluctuating moments, minds, and tonal centers, accruing a sum far greater than its parts. Its title, too, mirrors a fascination with the sculpted, with the fleeting made permanent: “A statue is a monument to a thing that was. As a musician, you're always seeking a new sound. And mourning the change of what came before”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cascine","offers":[{"title":"Black LPx2","offer_id":50432173965643,"sku":"2165086","price":44.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/Statues_I_5b290ccf_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726864794"},{"product_id":"quiet-in-a-world-full-of-noise","title":"Quiet in a World Full of Noise","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDawn Richard\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eSpencer Zahn\u003c\/strong\u003e share a common collaborative ethos, a genuine sense of musical curiosity, and a cosmopolitan eagerness to escape the conventions of genre. That shared vision first brought them together on 2022’s \u003cem\u003ePigments\u003c\/em\u003e — icy and warm, stripped-down and grand, familiar and otherworldly, and now it has reunited them for \u003cem\u003eQuiet in a World Full of Noise\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBy turns intimate, soul-baring, spectral, and startling, \u003cem\u003eQuiet in a World Full of Noise\u003c\/em\u003e blends atmospheric and orchestral soundscapes with mellifluous soul, jazz, and journalistic vocalizing, driving it all home with stark, confessional lyricism. The new album finds \u003cstrong\u003eRichard\u003c\/strong\u003e at her most raw and exposed. This year, \u003cstrong\u003eRichard\u003c\/strong\u003e’s musician father experienced mini strokes while being diagnosed with cancer; and last year, her cousin Cisco was fatally shot seven times in New Orleans. \u003cstrong\u003eRichard\u003c\/strong\u003e channels the emotional impact of these traumatic experiences of loss into her lyrics and vocal performances, which are left bare and human here, raw and unprocessed across the album.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eQuiet\u003c\/em\u003e expands the definitions of what constitutes progressive, avant-garde R\u0026amp;B by rewriting them altogether. On paper, \u003cstrong\u003eRichard\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eZahn\u003c\/strong\u003e’s audacious, impressionistic musical collaborations feel like a surprising match. \u003cstrong\u003eRichard\u003c\/strong\u003e, a New Orleans–reared visionary, has had an improbable journey from late 2000s reality television and mainstream pop with girl group Danity Kane to become one of the most prolific, experimental, and visible indie R\u0026amp;B singer-songwriters of the last decade and a half, with seven solo albums under her belt. \u003cstrong\u003eZahn\u003c\/strong\u003e is an East Coast–raised multi-instrumentalist and composer working at the intersections of jazz, Americana, classical, and ambient pop. His growing solo discography includes \u003cem\u003ePeople of the Dawn\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eSunday Painter\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003ePale Horizon\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eStatues I and II\u003c\/em\u003e, as well as the duo’s first release, \u003cem\u003ePigments\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e“\u003cem\u003ePigments\u003c\/em\u003e was one of the best projects I’ve ever made,” \u003cstrong\u003eRichard\u003c\/strong\u003e says, “and the furthest I’ve ever been pushed as an artist.” The album was a critical hit, hailed as Best New Music by Pitchfork and receiving praise from Stereogum as Album of the Week, NPR Music, Bandcamp Daily, The Fader, Bitter Southerner, and Edition, among many other publications.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe making of its follow-up, \u003cem\u003eQuiet in a World Full of Noise\u003c\/em\u003e, began in 2023 in upstate New York. Fresh from a break-up, \u003cstrong\u003eZahn\u003c\/strong\u003e sat at his piano and poured himself into writing and recording instrumental compositions. “I wrote all these stream-of-consciousness pieces on piano, and they were eerie, spacious piano tracks,” he said. He used a piano that had been unconventionally tuned to the room rather than to standard pitch. These oddly-tuned, eerie instrumental recordings were never intended to be an album.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSix months later, he listened to the recordings again and sent them to \u003cstrong\u003eRichard\u003c\/strong\u003e who immediately recognized their potential and said, “Oh, this is the next album.” \u003cstrong\u003eRichard\u003c\/strong\u003e went into the studio the next day and wrote and recorded melodies and lyrics to \u003cstrong\u003eZahn\u003c\/strong\u003e’s piano recordings. \u003cstrong\u003eZahn\u003c\/strong\u003e brought in gifted musicians like Bryan Senti on strings (violin, viola, and violoncello da spalla) and CJ Camerieri on brass (French horn, flugelhorn, and trumpet). In some cases, like on the track “Life in Numbers,” \u003cstrong\u003eZahn\u003c\/strong\u003e used only the original first-take piano recording and scratch vocal, resulting in an intimate close-up of both \u003cstrong\u003eRichard\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eZahn\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Merge Records","offers":[{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":50441956720971,"sku":"2209547","price":32.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50441955672395,"sku":"2209546","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/Dawn_Richard_and_Spencer_Zahn_-_Quiet_in_a_World_Full_o_9f0d7e8b_thumbnail_4.jpg?v=1726989336"},{"product_id":"second-line","title":"Second Line","description":"\u003cp\u003eMuch like the New Orleans–born artist who created it, \u003ci\u003eSecond Line\u003c\/i\u003e is an unapologetic genre bender that pushes boundaries, expands possibilities, and shatters expectations. It’s more than just an album: \u003ci\u003eSecond Line\u003c\/i\u003e is a cohesive sensory experience that questions traditional ideas of sound, production, and visual aesthetics as they relate to music. Its interlocking parts tell an epic story about the quest for artistic expression, with Dawn describing her project as “a movement to bring pioneering Black women in electronic music to the forefront.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eSecond Line\u003c\/i\u003e cuts to the chase with its opening suite of dancefloor bangers, immediately displaying Dawn’s mastery of layered production and melodic hooks.\u003ci\u003e Second Line \u003c\/i\u003etreats Louisiana Creole culture, New Orleans bounce, and Southern Swag as elemental, allowing Dawn to weave in and out of house, footwork, R\u0026amp;B, and more. As she says, “I am the genre.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe story of Second Line centers on Dawn’s persona King Creole, assassin of stereotypes, a Black girl from the South at a crossroads in her artistic career. To move forward, she decides to look back, but where previous album New Breed took influence from her father, Second Line is illuminated by Dawn’s mother. Her proud repeated proclamation of “I’m a Creole Girl” introduces the ecstatic dancehall pop of “Jacuzzi,” and later, on the cinematic album centerpiece “Mornin | Streetlights,” she answers Dawn’s question of how many times she has been in love. Intimate conversations like this between the two are interlaced throughout Second Line, giving credence to how the protagonist came to be, and direction to build a lane forward.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt’s no surprise that King Creole’s story parallels Dawn Richard’s. As a founding member of Danity Kane, and later with Diddy’s Dirty Money, Dawn was able to explore the ins and outs of commercial pop music. As a solo artist, she opted to selfrelease her music. Over the span of five critically acclaimed full-length albums, Dawn has made the message clear that she will not bow down or bend to industry norms. All the while, she’s built her resume with enough extracurriculars to make your head spin: Cheerleader for the New Orleans Hornets? Check. Animator for Adult Swim? Check. Owner-operator of a vegan pop-up food truck? Check. Martial arts expert? Check! Second Line embodies the heritage of soul music and the roots of New Orleans, all surrounded by the influences of electronic futurism. “The definition of a Second Line in New Orleans is a celebration of someone’s homecoming,” says Dawn. “In death and in life, we celebrate the impact of a person’s legacy through dance and music. I’m celebrating the death of old views in the industry. The death of boxes and limits. I’m celebrating the homecoming of the Future. The homecoming to the new wave of artists. The emergence of all the King Creoles to come.” Dawn Richard is bold, confident, purposeful, and a King throughout Second Line. Are you ready to dance?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Merge Records","offers":[{"title":"White | LP | x2","offer_id":50455130898763,"sku":"1114532","price":49.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"Black | LP","offer_id":50455132569931,"sku":"1114531","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50455127753035,"sku":"1114529","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/4be12fa2-fe0b-4056-aaf3-c676b29231c8_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727188406"},{"product_id":"pale-horizon","title":"Pale Horizon","description":"\u003cp\u003eSpencer Zahn's second record for Cascine emerged from a series of piano sketches born of daily improvisations in Kingston, New York, where he relocated during the pandemic after 14 years in the buzz of Brooklyn. Inspired by the space and pace of upstate life, he explored a more restrained, resonant mode of playing, letting chords delay all the way to silence, until the seeds of songs took shape. Zahn accompanied himself on upright bass, finessing each piece without cluttering it, focusing on the notion of \"the instrument in a room. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRecruiting long-time collaborator Andy Highmore for piano duties, the duo booked time at Figure 8 Recording in Prospect Heights to craft the lulling, lyrical 12-track suite of \u003ci\u003ePale Horizon\u003c\/i\u003e. The tonality of the instruments was central to Zahn's vision, fusing them to feel like a single entity, with upright bass blending in an elegant gradient with the low strings on the piano. An air of Keith Jarrett and Ryuichi Sakamoto hangs over the collection, acoustic and unhurried, stately but subdued, ruminative daydream melodies heard on the breeze in a quiet garden. Zahn ascribes the album's heightened sense of longing to a recent romantic relationship, infusing the music with newfound intimacy and tenderness. This is jazz as private reverie, murmurings of the heart at dusk and dawn, as light leaves and returns. Days become years; loves become lives. Nothing is static, least of all music: \"Every decade you can hear how jazz shifts. It's forever fluid.\"\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cascine","offers":[{"title":"White | LP","offer_id":50507197448523,"sku":"1156137","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/a03faab9-acd4-4ada-8611-dc48b266ca24_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727841916"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/collections\/test_186adef7_thumbnail_4096_61d750bf-e87a-4c2a-8b1a-754ee6356fb2.jpg?v=1726578370","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/de\/collections\/dawn-richard-and-spencer-zahn.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}