(MUTE) Canadian singer, songwriter and producer Cold Specks (aka Al Spx) has released a new track, "Wandering in the Wild", co-written with Chantal Kreviazuk (Drake / Kendrick Lamar).
The stripped-back beauty of "Wandering in the Wild" is inspired by Spx's months in a psychiatric ward ("If we survive, can we smile and be not sorry anymore / If they decide we're free, to run and scream / Will we jump for joy?") and how she survived an incredibly difficult time preceding her bipolar diagnosis.
"Wandering in the Wild", which follows "How It Feels", the artist's first music in seven years, was primarily written by Kreviazuk, following a long discussion with Al Spx about her experiences in the ward. Spx goes on to explain, "I used to be really precious about holding on to as much song writing as possible but then I remembered James Carr did not write 'The Dark End of the Street'. Thank you, Chantal, for such a timeless piece of music."
The spellbinding ballad has an illuminating grace and sense of freedom as the artist looks back on that time. Al Spx produced and performed the track, recorded by Graham Walsh (of Holy F***), and it features piano by Johnny Spence, strings by composer Owen Pallett and brass by long-time collaborator Terry Edwards.
Since she arrived in our lives with an unforgettable a capella performance on Later... with Jools Holland in 2011, Cold Specks has mixed crackling, pared-down guitar blues, gothic soul, gospel and warm electronics in three albums which won Polaris and Juno Prize nominations, 2012's I Predict A Graceful Expulsion, 2014's Neuroplasticity and 2017's Fool's Paradise. Her musical stretch is vast having worked with Swans, Massive Attack, Moby and performing at Joni Mitchell's birthday concert.
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