October 17, 2023

Ebony Lamb – Come, Put A Record On: 13th Floor New Song Of The Day

eke/Wellington-based singer-songwriter Ebony Lamb shares the final single and video ‘Come, Put A Record On’ from her upcoming debut self-titled solo album, out this Friday, October 20th through Nadia Reid‘s boutique record label, Slow Time Records.

With its intimate delivery, the track’s lyrics emphasise the role of music as a vital connector, featuring dissonant vocal layering and a meditative arpeggiated rhythm that builds into a call to action. Once again played and produced by Bic Runga and Kody Nielson, two of New Zealand’s finest modern musicians, their bold production choices bring this vulnerable performance to life.

Ebony Lamb explains, “This song has been recorded in so many ways. This version came out of a demo session with Dave Khan (Reb Fountain), Gram Antler (Eb & Sparrow) and myself in 2019. It’s about noticing human behavior and the potential power of art to influence it. It’s extending an invitation to participate in a shared moment – “Come, put a record on.”

The captivating music video was shot with a period piece aesthetic on the Otago Peninsula’s Kamau Taurua/Quarantine Island. Jacob Munro directed it with DOP Oscar Mein (Soaked Oats), supported by NZ On Air. The intentional switches between black and white and colour reflect Ebony’s distinct style as both a photographer and musician.

To celebrate her debut self-titled solo album’s release this Friday, Ebony and her band will embark on a seven-date tour across Aotearoa starting October 27th. Tickets are available at Banishedmusic.com.

Pre-order / Pre-save Ebony Lamb – EBONY LAMB: https://linktr.ee/ebonylambmusic

About EBONY LAMB:
A captivating work of impressionistic memories, observations and intimate confessions, Ebony wrote her debut self-titled solo album while coming into prominence as an in-demand portrait photographer within New Zealand’s contemporary literature and independent music scenes. The release comes five years after her alt-country band, Eb & Sparrow, amicably parted ways in 2018.

Recorded on vintage analog studio gear and mastered to tape, EBONY LAMB finds collaborators Bic Runga and Cody Nielson placing Ebony’s distinct, fragile-but-firm voice within a cinematic confluence of jazz, folk, psychedelia, alt-country and ambient pop. Written over the last five years while coming to terms with the realities of a changing world, themes of gratitude, loss, acceptance and aspiration run through the album like a river, especially in the nocturnal groove of ‘My Daughter My Sister My Son’ and ‘Brother Get Me Home’.

From the album’s opening notes, Ebony expresses herself in non-judgmental terms, singing with a raw tenderness that draws listeners into her reflections on friendship (‘Drive Me Around’), the complexity and contradictions of success (‘Successful Feelings’), and connections in seemingly hopeless moments (‘Come, Put A Record On’). Yet while her songs can feel like she’s sitting just across from you, Runga and Nielson’s production imbues them with an expansive sensibility.

Spare, vivid and moving, EBONY LAMB is an album that captures a defining artistic leap from a talented artist coming into her own. Singing to herself and the listener, she implores us to continue reaching forward without losing sight of what we have and the elements of our lives that truly matter.

Ebony Lamb – EBONY LAMB