MASTERFUL SINGER-SONGWRITER HERALDS ALBUM WITH NEW VIDEO FOR SONG “DEVILS AND ANGELS (HATRED)”
WILL APPEAR ON WXPN’S WORLD CAFÉ LATER TODAY
RUFUS WAINWRIGHT’S UNFOLLOW THE RULES: THE PARAMOUR SESSIONS AVAILABLE TODAY THROUGH ALL ARTS BROADCAST CHANNELS AND STREAMING PLATFORMS FOR FREE
“A stately pop throwback full of Wainwright’s signature vocal grandeur”
Rolling Stone
“Mighty return from Baroque Pop Renaissance man… has the kind of flourishing confidence of an artist recording at the peak of their powers.”
Q Magazine 4 star review
“Brimming with memorable melodies, swooning arrangements and smart lyrics dreamily sung…”
Uncut 9/10 review
Singer-songwriter supreme Rufus Wainwright announces the release of his long-awaited, new album, UNFOLLOW THE RULES which arrives today via BMG.
LISTEN TO UNFOLLOW THE RULES
To announce the album Rufus shares the video for “Devils and Angels (Hatred)” which was directed by the singer’s husband/co manager Jorn Weisbrodt with costumes by renown designer Zaldy.
WATCH “DEVILS AND ANGELS (HATRED)”
Wainwright says of the song, “My Queen moment? I wouldn’t go that far, but ‘Devils and Angels (Hatred)’ is the single and I think it’s an important song. It’s about what’s going on in the world today. We’re in the midst of a “war” that has to be won and to do that requires a dog spirit, a triumphant attitude. The concept comes from an opera I saw in Italy with my mum many years ago–Gluck’s Armide, premiered merely 10 years before the French revolution. There’s an amazing scene where the main character has to summon hatred in order to save herself. She sings an aria and hatred rises. Of course, hatred isn’t great, but it’s not all negative. It is an energy required in battle. That’s my sister Martha Wainwright on backing vocals. All of my albums have a Martha moment and this song required the big guns,” as for the video he remarks, “ we shot the video on the last day before the lock down in California. I think it captures a little bit of that end of the world spirit that people felt when this happened.”
Wainwright has had a busy release week with an interview on NPR’s All Thing Considered (read interview here), an appearance today WXPN’s on World Café which can be heard on over 200 radio stations nationwide. The complete carriage list is available at http://wx.pn/wcstations. Fans can check their local station’s Program Schedule for the World Cafe broadcast time. To listen live online, fans can hear the WXPN Philadelphia stream at 2pm ET at XPN.org by choosing WXPN from the ‘Listen Live’ drop-down at the top of the page.
Also today sees the TV broadcast of the concert Unfollow The Rules: The Paramour Session on ALL ARTS, available for viewing in the U.S. starting at 5pm PST / 8pm EST on
the ALL ARTS broadcast channel, free streaming app and allarts.org. Rufus performed acoustically, with a socially distanced string section, piano and guitar to accompany him, in the ballroom of LA’s Paramour Mansion, former home of silent film star Antonio Moreno on June 27. The concert feature Rufus’ upcoming album Unfollow the Rules in its entirety plus some additional songs from Wainwright’s existing repertoire and some new compositions, one of them written during and reflecting on the lockdown period.
Fans are also invited to attend an #UnfollowTheRules VIP Virtual Record Release Party on July 11 at 11 AM PT/ 2 PM EDT/ 7 PM BST / 8 PM CDT. Attendees will have a first look at some exclusive one-of-a-kind Unfollow The Rules merchandise, and will get a private virtual concert, including meet and greet and a tour of Wainwright’s Laurel Canyon home. For tickets and special merch bundles, visit rufuswainwrightvip.com.
Wainwright’s ninth studio LP and first new pop album since 2012, UNFOLLOW THE RULES finds the artist at the peak of his powers, entering artistic maturity with passion, honesty, and a new-found fearlessness while remaining as creative, bold, and mischievous as ever. Produced by Mitchell Froom (Crowded House, Paul McCartney, Richard Thompson, Suzanne Vega, Randy Newman) at a variety of legendary Los Angeles studios – including Sound City Studios, United Recording, and EastWest Studios – the album serves as both bookend to Act I of an extraordinary career which, like Unfollow The Rules, began in the studios of Los Angeles, but also now as the first lines of a remarkable new chapter. Inspired by middle age, married life, fatherhood, friends, loss, London, and Laurel Canyon, songs like “Only The People That Love” and the spirited, symphonic “Hatred” find the gifted singer-songwriter ready to tackle new challenges, yet compelled to confront his past by making sense of how he has grown both as a musician and the contented family man he has become.
RUFUS WAINWRIGHT
UNFOLLOW THE RULES
(BMG)
Release Date: Friday, July 10, 2020
TRACKLISTING
ACT I
1. Trouble in Paradise
2. Damsel in Distress
3. Unfollow The Rules
4. You Ain’t Big
ACT II
5. Romantical Man
6. Peaceful Afternoon *
7. Only The People That Love
8. This One’s For The Ladies (That Lunge)
ACT III
9. My Little You
10. Early Morning Madness
11. Devils and Angels (Hatred) *
12. Alone Time
* French versions for Peaceful Afternoon “Pièce à Vivre” and Devils and Angels (Hatred) “Haine” available as well
June 26 – Bath, England @ Bath Forum
June 27 – Llandudno, Wales @ Venue Cymru
July 1 – Rudolstadt, Germany @ Rudolstadt Festival
July 3 – Caldas de Reis, Spain @ Port’A merica Festival
July 7 – Madrid, Spain @ Noches del Botanico
July 12 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Live at Amsterdam Bos
July 20 – Cartagena, Spain @ La Mar de Musicas
July 31 – Glasgow, Scotland @ Kelvingrove Bandstand
Oct 6 – Southampton, England @ O2 Guildhall
Oct 8 – Newcastle, England @ The Tyne Theatre & Opera House (*moved from The Sage in Gateshead)
Oct 9 – Edinburgh, Scotland @ Usher Hall
Oct 10 – Manchester, England @ Bridgewater Hall
Oct 12 – Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England @ City Hall
Oct 13 – York, England @ Barbican
Oct 15 – Cambridge, England @ The Corn Exchange
Oct 16 – Liverpool, England @ Olympia
Oct 18 – London, England @ The London Palladium
Oct 19 – London, England @ The London Palladium
Oct 20 – Brighton, East Sussex, England @ Brighton Dome
Oct 22 – Southend-on-Sea, England @ Leas Cliffs Pavilion
Oct 23 – Exeter, England @ The Great Hall
Oct 25 – Birmingham, England @ Symphony Hall
Oct 26 – Oxford, Oxfordshire, England @ New Theatre Oxford
Oct 27 – Cardiff, Wales @ St. David’s Hall
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