Anohni and the Johnsons has announced that their new album, My Back Was a Bridge For You To Cross, will be released this summer and shared the first single from the album “It Must Change” accompanied by a video. The album is set for release on 7th July through Rough Trade and Secretly Canadian. Presave the album here.
Talking about the album’s influences and focuses in a press release Anohni said, “I’ve been thinking a lot about Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On. That was a really important touchstone in my mind. Some of these songs respond to global and environmental concerns first voiced in popular music over 50 years ago.”
The video for the soulful “It Must Change” was directed by British artists, filmmakers, and frequent collaborators of Nick Cave, Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard. Starring in the video is British transactivist and model Munroe Bergdorf, who glows in the blue nocturnal light as she lip-syncs to Anohni’s sultry cries of “that’s why this is so sad”. Anohni said on the activist in the press release, “Munroe Bergdorf has done so much service for British society. She always impresses me with her articulate grace. Munroe’s dignity and ethical courage are a guiding light”. Watch the video below:
“Beyond excited and nervous to share this with the world”, Anohni wrote on her Instagram prior to the single’s release. “It’s me giving everything I’ve got, stepping out during these crazy times. I want to be helpful and useful in this moment. We need to work collectively and pool our empathy, find ways forward. I am trying to make music that supports your dreaming, your engagement, your sense of connection, your courage, your activism. It’s a feminine dream for all people. Love ANOHNI”.
ANOHNI and The Johnsons’ sixth album will be available in limited edition yellow vinyl online as well as white vinyl from indie retail. Click here to pre-order.
Though the singer was born in Chichester, ANOHNI and The Johnstons (named in tribute to trailblazing trans activist Marsha P. Johnston) formed in New York in 1997. The changing ensemble has featured renowned producers and musicians Jimmy Hogarth and Leo Abrahams.
In 2005, the band’s melancholic chamber pop second LP, I am a Bird Now, which featured legendary artist such as Rufus Wainwright, Devendra Banhart, Joan Wasser, Boy George, and Lou Reed, gathered critical and commercial success, earning the band a mercury prize. In 2016, Anohni became the first openly transgender performer nominated for an Academy Award when she was Best Original Song for “Manta Ray” in the film Racing Extinction.
See the tracklist for My Back Was a Bridge For You To Cross below:
01) It Must Change
02) Go Ahead
03) Sliver of Ice
04) Can’t
05) Scapegoat
06) It’s My Fault
07) Rest
08) There Wasn’t Enough
09) Why Am I Alive Now?
10) You Be Free
