Leila Abdul-Rauf (of Vastum, Ionophore, Cardinal Wyrm, Fyrhtu, and other bands) is releasing her fifth solo album, Calls From A Seething Edge, on October 11 via Cyclic Law and Syrup Moose (pre-order). Leila handles vocals, trumpet, programmed beats, drum tracks, and choir/string quartet arrangements, and she self-produced and recorded the album with assistance from ammy Fielding (Ancient Owl Audio, who also mastered it. It also features acoustic guitar from Derrick Vella (Tomb Mold, Dream Unending, viola solos by Gregory C. Hagan (ex-Common Eider, King Eider), violin by Ryan Honaker (Ionophore, Betterthief), electric cello and upright bass by Vincent van Veen (Kali Ra), acoustic upright bass by Ed Lloyd Grey, and hand percussion and additional drum sampling by Sam Foster (ex-Saros, ex-Weakling).
We’re premiering new single “Crimes of the Soul,” along with its video, which was filmed by the aforementioned Gregory C. Hagan (who also took the above photo) and directed by Gridfailure’s David Brenner. It’s an eerie, brooding, tension-building song, and here’s what Leila says about it:
Musically it’s the most synth-heavy and rhythmically driving track on the album. Unlike my previous work which mostly reflected inward, these lyrics direct outward, confronting the darkest sides of humanity—its ability to perpetually commit, deny, and repeat genocide to maintain economic and geopolitical power and control. The song ponders the questions: Is this degree of violence a natural instinct or learned, and what does it matter if humans have the capacity to overcome it? And if we do have that capacity, will we be around long enough as a species to evolve, considering we’re likely at the point of no return from ecological disaster?
Check out the new song and video, and the album artwork and tracklist, below.
Tracklist
1. Summon
2. Mukhalafat
3. Depths Of Us
4. Failure To Fire
5. The Light That Left You
6. Crimes Of The Soul
7. The Summoned