Music titan Kamasi Washington’s new EP Harmony of Difference, the first new music from Washington since his universally acclaimed 2015 debut albumThe Epic, is out September 29 via Young Turks.
Furthermore, Washington has confirmed a very special run of North American headline shows this fall in partnership with AEG Presents. The dates kick off November 7 in Milwaukee, with further shows in Chicago, NewYork, D.C.,Philadelphia, Atlanta and many more.
Please see below for full tour details; presales begin August 1 at 10 a.m. local time. American Express® Card Members can purchase tickets before the general public beginning Wednesday, August 2 at 10 a.m. local time through Thursday, August 3 at 10 p.m. local time. Tickets go on sale to the public August 4 at 10 a.m. local time unless otherwise noted.
Harmony of Difference premiered as part of the Whitney Museum of American Art 2017 Biennial alongside a film by Rojas and also featuring artwork by Kamasi Washington’s sister, Amani Washington. The new music is an original six part suite that explores the philosophical possibilities of the musical technique known as “counterpoint,” which Washington defines as “the art of balancing similarity and difference to create harmony between separate melodies.” Beyond the artistic impulse to expand the possibilities within counterpoint, Washington wanted to create something that opened people’s minds to the gift of diversity.
Each of the first five movements is its own unique composition. “Truth,” the sixth movement, fuses all five compositions into one simultaneous performance. Echoing this fusion, Amani created five paintings focused on raw shapes and colors, each inspired by one of the first five movements of the suite. Amani then combined these paintings to create a sixth: an abstract depiction of a human face.
The film, directed by A.G. Rojas, brings the metaphoric ideas found in both the music and paintings to life. While still quite abstract, it focuses on the harmony found in people from South Central and East Los Angeles and shows the beauty in their differences.
Harmony Of Difference will be available on all digital services, as well as on 12” vinyl with a 14-page concertina booklet featuring original artwork by Amani Washington and still images from the film by A.G. Rojas on September 29. It is available to pre-order via http://y-t-r.co/harmonyofdifference
“My hope is that witnessing the beautiful harmony created by merging different musical melodies will help people realize the beauty in our own differences.”—Kamasi Washington
HARMONY OF DIFFERENCE 1. Desire
2. Humility
3. Knowledge
4. Perspective
5. Integrity
6. Truth
KAMASI WASHINGTON LIVE November 7 | Milwaukee, WI | Turner Hall Ballroom* November 8 | Madison, WI | Majestic Theatre November 9 | Minneapolis, MN | First Avenue November 10 | Chicago, IL | Riviera Theatre November 11 | Cleveland, OH | Agora Ballroom November 14 | Urbana, IL | Canopy Club November 15 | Detroit, MI | Majestic Theatre November 16 | Toronto, ON | Danforth November 17 | Burlington, VT | Higher Ground* November 18 | Northhampton, MA | Calvin Theatre November 20 | Boston, MA | Royale November 22 | New York, NY | Terminal 5* November 24 | Washington, D.C. | MGM National Harbor November 25 | Philadelphia, PA | Union Transfer November 27 | Pittsburgh, PA | Mr. Smalls Theatre November 28 | Cincinnati, OH | Taft Theatre† November 30 | Charlottesville, VA | Jefferson Theater December 1 | Richmond, VA | The National December 2 | Raleigh, NC | Duke Energy Center December 3 | Asheville, NC | The Orange Peel December 5 | Birmingham, AL | Saturn December 6 | Athens, GA | Georgia Theatre December 8 | Atlanta, GA | Variety Playhouse December 9 | Nashville, TN | Marathon Music Works December 10 | Louisville, KY | Headliners Music Hall December 11 | Memphis, TN | New Daisy Theatre
*on sale at 12 p.m. local time
†on sale at 11 a.m. local time