Meshell Ndegeocello has announced his new album, The Royal Book of Omnichorde. It marks his debut release on Blue Note and is scheduled to arrive on June 16. He has shared the lead single, “Virgo,” which features Brandee Younger and Julius Rodriguez. Give it a listen below.
The Royal Book of Omnichorde is the thirteenth studio album by Ndegeocello and follows up on his 2018 full-length, Ventriloquism. Spanning 18 songs, the new LP features a long list of featured artists, including Jason Moran, Ambrose Akinmusire, Joel Ross, Jeff Parker, Mark Guiliana, Cory Henry, Joan as Police Woman and Thandiswa, among others.
“This album is about the way we see old things in new ways,” said Ndegeocello. “Everything moved so fast when my parents died. It changed my view of everything and myself in the blink of an eye. While examining the remains of their life together, I found my first Royal Book, the one my father gave me. I took his records, the ones I grew up listening to, learning from, remembering. My mother gave me her pain, I carry the melancholy that she defined her experience and, in turn, my experience of what is called life calls me to disappear into my imagination and listen to music”.
Read about Meshell Ndegeocello’s “Hot Night” in “When Feminism Meets Music: Great Songs That Sample Radical Speech” on the Pitch.
