Rufus Wainwright has announced Folkocracy, a star-studded album of folk music reinventions that sees the singer-songwriter joined by a spectacular collection of friends, family members, and other special guest artists that includes Brandi Carlile, John Legend, David Byrne, Sheryl Crow, Chaka Khan, Andrew Bird, ANOHNI, Susanna Hoffs, Van Dyke Parks, Madison Cunningham, and many more. Folkocracy arrives Friday, June 2nd.
Produced by longtime collaborator Mitchell Froom (Paul McCartney, Crowded House), Folkocracy is heralded by the release of “Down in the Willow Garden” (Feat. Brandi Carlile). A timeless murder ballad reimagined for modern times, the haunting track is accompanied by an official music video…
“Singing with Rufus feels like watching birds swirl around together instinctively in flight,” says Brandi Carlile. “It’s anticipated but somehow as natural as can be. His voice is so special to me that I hear it sometimes when he’s not even singing with me. I loved every second of flying around in this music with him.”
And, on the song with Carlile, Wainwright says, “Brandi I see a lot, often with Joni Mitchell. I chose us a cheery little number – not! The song is so blatantly brutal and masochistic that I had to sing it with a woman. Sadly, we still live in a violent world. The amazing thing about so many folk songs is that, content wise, they sound very contemporary. Think of the gun crime in the States right now.”
Wainwright adds, “This album is almost like a recorded birthday party and birthday present to myself. I just invited all the singers that I greatly admire and always wanted to sing with.”
Wainwright – joined by a six-piece band and a number of surprise special guests – will celebrate Folkocracy with a one-night-only Release Day concert event set for Los Angeles, CA’s Walt Disney Concert Hall on Friday, June 2nd.
In addition, this August will see Wainwright embark on a worldwide ‘Folkocracy Tour’ while also marking both the 25th anniversary of his landmark debut album, 1998’s Rufus Wainwright, and the 20th anniversary of 2003’s award-winning Want One (and its 2004 companion, Want Two) with a series of orchestral shows featuring lush symphonic arrangements by Sally Herbert (Woodkid, Florence + the Machine) and Max Moston (Antony and the Johnsons). A full slate of North American, EU, and UK dates will be announced soon.
Tracklist as follows:
- Alone (Feat. Madison Cunningham)
- Heading for Home (Feat. John Legend)
- Twelve-Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming To The Canyon) (Feat. Susanna Hoffs, Chris Stills & Sheryl Crow)
- Down in the Willow Garden (Feat. Brandi Carlile)
- Shenandoah
- Nacht und Träume
- Harvest (Feat. Andrew Bird & Chris Stills)
- Going to a Town (Feat. ANOHNI)
- High on a Rocky Ledge (Feat. David Byrne)
- Kaulana Na Pua (Feat. Nicole Scherzinger)
- Hush Little Baby (Feat. Martha Wainwright & Lucy Wainwright Roche)
- Black Gold (Feat. Van Dyke Parks)
- Cotton Eyed Joe (Feat. Chaka Khan)
- Arthur McBride
- Wild Mountain Thyme (Feat. Anna McGarrigle, Chaim Tannenbaum, Lily Lanken, Lucy Wainwright Roche, & Martha Wainwright)
