Beverly Glenn-Copeland has announced The Ones Ahead, his first new album in almost 20 years. The follow-up to 2004’s Primal Prayer is set for release on July 28 via Transgressive. Along with the announcement, Glenn-Copeland has shared the lead single ‘Africa Calling’, which you can check out below.
“In the ‘80s I had the honour of performing with an incredible artist named Dido, a master of the drums indigenous to West Africa,” Glenn-Copeland said of the new track in a statement. “The beauty of this drumming tradition is explored in ‘Africa Calling’. Over the years, in many conversations, I have come to understand that I share an undefinable, unnamed feeling – a calling – with many other members of the African diaspora, a bone-deep need to explore and express our heritage. Alongside the grief, there is a longing to know our roots, hidden from us as family lines were torn apart in the terrible days of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. In a world still caught in the ties of colonialism, I know I am not alone in needing to heed the call of this generations-old longing.”
Glenn-Copeland made The Ones Ahead with producer John Herbermann and Indigo Rising, the band who joined him on his inaugural European tour. It was recorded at a remote studio in Nova Scotia in late 2021 and completed in 2022.
In 2021, Glenn-Copeland released Keyboard Fantasies Reimagined, a remix album featuring reimagined versions of songs from his 1986 LP by artists such as Arca, Blood Orange, Julia Holter, and Kelsey Lu. More recently, the xx’s Romy sampled Glenn-Copeland on her new single ‘Enjoy Your Life’.
The Ones Ahead Cover Artwork:
The Ones Ahead Tracklist:
1. Africa Calling
2. Harbour (Song For Elizabeth)
3. Love Takes All
4. People Of The Loon
5. Stand Anthem
6. The Ones Ahead
7. Prince Caspian’s Dream
8. Lakeland Angel
9. No Other