Today, 'The Painful Truth' arrives as the perfect follow up to Fold's previous jazz-funk release 'Sustain' which was picked for Spotify's Fresh Finds Jazz playlist, played on BBC 6 Music by Gideon Coe & glowingly reviewed by Indie Shuffle.
The new single is released on brand new and exciting, multi-genre UK label SUBTXT, whose core ethos of “dig deep, shout loud” follows their aim to create a platform for artists that want their music to question, interrogate and challenge as well as delight and entertain. In times when opinions are divided, SUBTXT fundamentally sees music as a vehicle for conversation, enlightenment and hope from a diverse range of voices in sonic landscape made from belief.
When listening to Fold's new single, the phrase “truth is an endangered space” takes centre stage, voiced by the late bell hooks and in proud tribute to her. Using delicately paced soundbites from the late visionary author, 'The Painful Truth' reflects a society in which dissenting voices are being deliberately and increasingly stifled. Yet there is hope because, as hooks states, ‘people are really hungry for truth.’ That sense of hope is brought to life by a beautifully cinematic, jazz-funk soundscape with horn arrangements by long-time Fold collaborator Emma Johnson.
Speaking about the new single in detail, Seth Mowshowitz of the band explained, “We are continually impressed by bell hooks’ observations and with each new discovery we feel her loss more keenly. Like me, bell hooks was also a New Yorker. She was a professor at CUNY where my father taught for most of his career. This piece uses excerpts from a 2002 interview that triggers memories for me of how it felt to live in post-911 New York / USA. Dissident voices were ruthlessly silenced. Powerful forces took full advantage of the hurt and fear that people were experiencing. What bell hooks observed at that time was the beginning of a trend that has only increased since. We are now very much, as she puts it, ‘in danger of silencing any form of speech that goes against what is perceived to be the status quo.’ This is the perspective that we want to amplify right now.“
The band continued, "Today we release 'The Painful Truth' not only as a tribute to bell hooks but also in solidarity with all brave souls speaking truth to power, often at great personal cost. This goes out to the whistleblowers, journalists, academics and each person who is brave enough to deliver the necessary truth in everyday life, even when it is most uncomfortable."
With a sound reputation as a gem in the crown of the underground British music scene, Fold's music is played on BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music, Amazing Radio and independent stations across the world. Indie Shuffle are big fans and they’ve been featured in The Times, The Guardian and The NME.
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