Photo: Lucy E. Mueller

Chicago poet, performer and multidisciplinary artist Marvin Tate has a new collaborative album on the way with longtime creative partner LeRoy Bach. A singular presence in Chicago’s creative community for more than three decades, Tate has long blurred the boundaries between poetry, music and performance, weaving together spoken word, improvisation, humour and personal storytelling into works that defy easy categorization. Entitled Controlled Burn, the forthcoming record finds Tate embracing a more intimate setting built from a series of improvised studio sessions and live performances with Bach. This marks a change for Tate, whose recent work has often embraced the energy of larger ensemble performances. Other than Bach, who occasionally expanded the arrangements through overdubs, Controlled Burn also features contributions from drummer Quin Kirchner and a cameo from Ben LaMar Gay, but as Tate put it, the record remains connected to “the days when the sound of my feet hitting the pavement is my only accompaniment.”

Ahead of the album’s release, Tate has unveiled two singles, ‘First You Hear’, and more recently ‘Hold Me’, both serving as an exciting taste of what’s to come. Take a listen below.