Montréal based sax virtuoso and multi-instrumentalist Colin Stetson has set the release date for the third and last of a triptych of solo albums entitled New History Warfare. The upcoming New History Warfare Vol. 3: To See More Light follows Stetson’s previously released albums from the same series, the widely acclaimed New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges released in 2011 and his 2008 New History Warfare Vol. 1.
The composer and performer’s new effort, due out on April 30th via Constellation, was co-produced and mixed by Ben Frost and recorded live in single takes.
New History Warfare Vol. 3: To See More Light features guest vocal contributions from Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon on four songs. There’s no overdubbing on the whole album except for on these songs with Vernon’s voice. Stetson “doesn’t rely on looping/layering or multi-track/overdubs technologies”, as the label said. Instead, Stetson mastered the technique of circular breathing, which allows him to play continuously by breathing through his nose at the same time he plays with his mouth.
“Anyone who has seen Stetson in solo performance can attest to the stunning physicality of his circular-breathing technique and capacity to produce a seemingly impossible palate of multiple voicings simultaneously in real time – making his already beautiful and evocative compositions all the more enrapturing and viscerally human.”
Ahead of the release, Stetson has unveiled the first breathtaking single, ‘High Above A Grey Green Sea’. Listen to it now.