VALERIE JUNE RETURNS WITH FIRST NEW ORIGINAL MUSIC IN NEARLY FOUR YEARS
THREE-SONG SUITE PRODUCED BY JACK SPLASH
(KENDRICK LAMAR, ALICIA KEYS) AND VALERIE JUNE
LISTEN TO STAY/STAY MEDITATION/YOU AND I AT ROLLING STONE
Toronto, ON – November 13, 2020 – Today, the Tennessee-born, Brooklyn-based artist, Valerie June — “a true star in the making” (Okayplayer) — returns with her first new music since her acclaimed 2017 album, The Order Of Time. The new and original three-song suite, produced by Jack Splash (Kendrick Lamar, Alicia Keys, John Legend) and Valerie June, unveils an ambitious leap forward.
From the yearning and mystical country-soul of Stay, through to the dreamy, flute-abetted interlude, Stay Meditation, and concluding with You And I — which fuses R&B and African rhythms into something restorative, danceable, and distinctly Valerie — these songs invite listeners into an immersive world painted in a rich sonic palette.
Watch the visualizer for the three-song suite, which begins with Valerie posing statuesque before she simultaneously commands and disintegrates into the cosmos, at Rolling Stone. Listen and/or purchase Stay /Stay Meditation/ You and I.
In addition, Valerie will host a guided Stay-themed meditation tomorrow Saturday, November 14 via her YouTube page from her home in Brooklyn, where she’ll also talk about the new two songs and the meditation track she’s releasing today.
In the lead-up to last week’s election, Valerie June — inspired by the enthusiastic reaction to her Young, Gifted, & BlackSpotify playlist, as well as the spirit of late musician and civil rights activist, Nina Simone — curated a voter mobilization livestream entitled Voice Your Vote that platformed exciting young black artists like Brittany Howard, Jon Batiste, Black Pumas, Rhiannon Giddens, and more in an effort to mobilize voters and stop voter suppression endemic in Black and brown communities. Proceeds from the stream went to Stacey Abram’s Fair Fight and Movement Voter Project’s Black-Led Organizing Fund. Read more here.
Valerie June’s previous two records — 2013’s Pushin’ Against A Stone and 2017’s The Order Of Time — established her as a vital voice in the world of roots music, earning the admiration of Bob Dylan and landing on best-of-the-year lists from the New York Times, The New Yorker and more.
Keep an eye out for more new music from Valerie June in 2021.
Praise For Valerie June:
"She knows when quiet is enough. It feels like a model for being.” — The New Yorker
“Rootsy, leisurely, genre-blurring Americana grooves roll along and evolve behind Valerie June’s assorted voices — nasal, clear, cracked, breathy — in songs with a casual, conversational surface. But they often contemplate past and present eternities, from her family’s history to the promise of lifelong love.”
— The New York Times, Best Albums of 2017
"Childlike wonderment amid a gloriously ethereal atmosphere reminiscent of Van Morrison's 'Astral Weeks.' Fantastic stuff.” — The Guardian
"[The Order of Time is] near-perfect front to back, its politics are subtle and sly, mostly implicit and matter-of-fact, transmitted through sketches of lovers and other strugglers.” — Rolling Stone
"Each of these songs are suffused with nostalgia or idealism that's also strikingly grounded.” — NPR Music
“Of its time and timeless.” — NPR Fresh Air
"An exercise in vigilant renewal... [June] glides and grooves before breaking your heart completely.” — VICE
