Gary Clark Jr. New Album and London Tour Dates Announcement
American blues guitarist Gary Clark Jr. is someone who has an army of A-list of fans and collaborators including The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Alicia Keys, Dave Grohl, Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran, B.B, King and Buddy Guy. After 500,000 sales and a Grammy Award for his Warner Bros. Records debut ‘Blak and Blu’, Clark will build on his burgeoning reputation with the September 11th release of ‘The Story of Sonny Boy Slim’.
Produced by Clark himself, ‘The Story of Sonny Boy Slim’ is a mash-up of his biggest influences which range from Leadbelly to Outkast via Marvin Gaye, with sounds that flow effortlessly from retro school soul to hip-hop via aggressive hard rock and sensitive balladeering. In addition to guitar and vocals, Clark also contributed most of the bass, drums, keys, harmonica and percussion that feature within its thirteen tracks.
The album was recorded at Arlyn Studios in Clark’s hometown of Austin, Texas to “soak up my hometown vibe and put some of that energy back on record while it was still fresh.” He decided to produce the album in order to “push myself to my creative limits, and to express myself without over-thinking stuff – I’m happy when I’m able to do that because it’s the thing that I love the most.”
Pre-orders for the album are now open, with ‘The Healing’ and ‘Grinder’ available as instant grat tracks. Album opener ‘The Healing’ is about “me testifying and expressing how I feel about music.” It commences with a field recording of Austin busker Christopher Copeland before Clark’s guitar rips into centre-stage to kick-start a sizzling concoction of blues-rock, hip-hop beats and gospel backing vocals. The second track, ‘Grinder’, finds Clark twisting screeching solos over a corrugated rhythm, with a lyrical theme of fighting for money and power.
‘The Story of Sonny Boy Slim’ will be available on digital, CD and vinyl formats.
The first of Clark’s big name connections was established in 2010 when Eric Clapton invited him to perform at his Crossroads Festival on a bill that was compered by Bill Murray. Similar collaborations have followed on a steady basis ever since: he was invited to participate in the Austin segment of Foo Fighters’ Sonic Highway documentary/album and he’s also set to join the band on tour this autumn; he has supported and performed with The Rolling Stones; and he collaborated with Beyoncé and Ed Sheeran at a Grammy tribute to Stevie Wonder show.
In a world in which such associations are becoming a “slightly trippy” norm, an invitation to perform at the White House as part of an all-star musical ensemble with Mick Jagger, the late B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Booker T and others was something dramatically out of the ordinary. Even president Barack Obama proved to be a fan when he described Clark as “the future.”
Here is the audio for the song ‘The Healing’ which is taken from the new album ‘The Story of Sonny Boy Slim’:
In addition, Gary Clark Jr. has announced a trio of live dates at The Electric Ballroom in Camden, London on the following dates:
Saturday 14th November 2015 – http://electricballroom.co.uk/gary-clarke-jr-third-show-added/
Sunday 15th November 2015 – http://electricballroom.co.uk/gary-clarke-jr-second-show-added/
Monday 16th November 2015 – (SOLD OUT)
Glenn Sargeant
Gary Clark Jr.’s new album ‘The Story of Sonny Boy Slim’ will be released on Friday 11th September 2015 on Warner Brothers Records and is available to pre-order now on http://www.garyclarkjr.com/gcjsosbs
