Our Song of the Day is At the Purchaser’s Option, a powerful new song from Rhiannon Giddens’ forthcoming new album, Freedom Highway, her follow-up to her highly praised debut album Tomorrow Is My Turn. The album is due out on Nonesuch Records on February 24.
Talking about the inspiration for the song she revealed “Last year I came across an advertisement from the 1830s for a young woman. Thinking about her, and how she had to maintain her humanity against horrific odds inspired this song named for the end of the ad: ‘She has with her a 9-month old baby, who is at the purchaser’s option.'”
At the Purchaser’s Option, along with the album’s title track Freedom Highway is available to download via iTunes now. Nonesuch Records declare the new album to be rawer and more personal than its predecessor:
Giddens co-produced Freedom Highway with multi-instrumentalist Dirk Powell in his Breaux Bridge, Louisiana studio, with the bulk of recording done in wooden rooms built prior to the Civil War. As producers, Giddens and Powell sought to release the stories already in the walls, allowing the space to be a voice in itself. This approach allowed for an emotional fearlessness and presence not always easy to achieve in the studio. Together they assembled the players, which included her superb touring band, local musicians from the bayou, a soulful horn section from New York, and talented family members. The principle recording was done over an intense eight day period.
Anyone that saw the Transatlantic Sessions at Celtic Connections last year will recall how Rhiannon Giddens stole the show. She “visibly astonished the audience and fellow musicians alike by the strength of her vocal delivery and her sheer dynamic, energetic presence” (read our live review here). Giddens and her band will tour internationally in the spring, including UK shows in London (Union Chapel, March 30), Cambridge (Cambridge Junction, March 31), Edinburgh (Queen’s Hall, April 2) and Dublin (Whelan’s, April 3).
Pre-Order Freedom Highway via Amazon