The new Baroness record is out. We’d like to take a moment now to recognize and give thanks to some of our friends who helped us transform our new album “Purple,” from a collection of songs we wrote in a basement in Philadelphia, into something more internally meaningful than we had anticipated. It was not a simple process, and we most definitely could not have created this without the extreme dedication and help from some of our incredibly talented friends. Today I’d like you to meet and become familiar with Marald van Haasteren, an incredibly talented visual artist, whom I admired long before Baroness began, and a man whom I have the great fortune of calling a true friend.
When Baroness formed, we cut our teeth, learned our lessons, and developed our creative ideology within the global community of punk,/hardcore/DIY. As a result, we were lucky to have met and become involved with a relatively small but potent and universally spread-out network of similar-minded people. These were the people who helped us book and promote tours, attended our shows, opened their doors to us, and gave us food and a place to sleep. This included a variety musicians and artists, many of whom we have maintained lifelong friendships with.
I remember distinctly the first time I met Marald, who came to see us play at de Winston club in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, the first day of the first ever Baroness European tour. He was humble and kind then, and has remained so to this day. I’ve been astounded watching his work progress, from incredibly technical, mini-masterpieces, painted as album covers for punk/hardcore bands to the currently ever-increasing series of mixed-media drawings he has created for Baroness, balancing familiar elements of our visual language with his own distinct blend of world-class draftsmanship and delicate compositional sensibility. Though I could write seemingly endless elaborate and glowing tributes to the quality and strength of his work, that wouldn’t be enough, in-and-of-itself, to justify our collaboration.
We, as a band, have a firm belief that working with and amongst our talented friends will not only lead us to more collaboratively open-minded projects; but will bear a more challenging and fruitful result. A result which more accurately represents us, our intentions as a band and as artists, in a more inspired way than If we were to simply hire “talent”. We prefer that people work with us, not for us. While we have most definitely grown over the years, we staunchly refuse to abandon those few, simple, fundamental ideals that drew us to this musical underbelly to begin with: a community of outsiders, with a mutual respect, and a thirst for creative freedom. We found a new member of the Baroness family in Marald: and we hope those of you unfamiliar with his work will not only find yourselves lost deep within the density of his visual landscapes, but also sense of connection, history and shared respect we have for him. To meet someone you admire is an easy thing; to develop a lasting friendship, which will challenge each to strive towards higher goals and deliver on an ever-increasing scale is the rarest and most precious relationship any artist can share with another.
Baroness fans, please meet Marald, my friend of many years, Baroness-collaborator, and with “Purple”, the artist who surprised us all by creating not one, but a continually growing number of drawings which I must admit, have forced me to stay on top of my own game. Thank you Marald, you have truly exceed any expectations we had and given us what I believe your best work yet.
Marald and I have some big plans in the works, which you will be hearing about very soon.
Our new record Purple is out today, we hope you enjoy.
Starting today, a limited cassette of Purple is available free with the purchase of Purple on CD or LP at select stores starting today, while supplies last. List of participating stores below.
FIND PURPLE ON CASSETTE (WHILE SUPPLIES LAST) AT: Electric Fetus Minneapolis, MN Duluth, MN Exclusive Co Oshkosh, WI West Bend, WI Appleton, WI Green Bay, WI Milwaukee, WI Greenfield, WI Janesville, WI Dearborn Music Dearborn, MI Shake It Cincinnati, OH Homer’s Omaha, NE Strictly Discs Madison, WI Culture Clash Toldeo, OH Laurie’s Chicago, IL Vertigo Grand Rapids, MI Finders Bowling Green, OH Greenlight Kalamazoo, MI Magnolia T-Pussy Columbus, OH Record Den Mentor, OH ZZZ Des Moines, IA Rolling Stone Norridge, IL Luna Indianapolis, IN Landlocked Bloomington, IN Neat Neat Neat Ft. Wayne, IN Karma Indianapolis, IN Shelbyville, IN Warsaw, IN Waiting Room Normal, IL Warzoo Ann Arbor, MI Spoonful Columbus, OH Kiss The Sky Batvia, IL Madcity Music Madison, WI Down In The Valley Golden Valley, MN Crystal, MN Maple Grove, MN Reckless Records Chicago, IL Indy CD Indianapolis, IN Dave’s Chicago, IL Exile on Main St Champaign, IL Flat Black & Circular East Lansing, MI UHF Royal Oaks, MI Plaid Room Records Loveland, OH Lost Weekend Columbus, OH Radio Kaos Stevens Point, WI Toad Hall Rockford, IL Wooden Nickel Ft. Wayne, IN Street Corner Music Oak Park, MI Omega Dayton, OH Algonquin Records Algonquin, IL Music Saves Cleveland, OH Used KIds Columbus, OH Joe’s Records Evansville, IN Shugah Records Chicago, IL Barely Bros Minneapolis, MN Know Name Minneapolis, MN Encore Records Ann Arbor, MI Mad Hatter Fondulac, WI Mill City Sound Hopkins, MN Moondog Dubuque, IA Rediscover Records Elgin, IL Square Records Akron, OH Amoeba Los Angeles, CA San Francisco, CA Brooklyn, NY Cactus Houson, TX End of An Ear Austin, TX Euclid St. Louis, MO Fingerprints Long Beach, CA Good Records Dallas, TX Guestroom Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Independent Colorado Springs, CO Pueblo, CO Fountain, CO Lou’s Records Encinitas, CA Mills Record Co Kansas City, KS Rhino Claremont, CA Salzers Ventura, CA Stinkweeds Phoenix, AZ Superfly San Marcos, TX Twist and Shout Denver, CO Vintage Vinyl St. Louis, MO Waterloo Austin, TX Zia Records Phoenix, AZ Chandler, AZ Tucson, AZ Las Vegas, NV Jack’s Music Shop Red Bank, NJ Interpunk Online Mad Platter West Chester, PA Princeton Record Exchange Princeton, NJ Scotti’s Record Show Summit, NH Pure Pop Burlington, VT Vintage Vinyl Fords, NJ Looney Tunes West Babylon, NY BK Music Richmond, VA Young Ones Kutztown, PA Angry Young and Poor Lancaster, PA Gallery of Sound Wilkes-Barre, PA Dickson City, PA West Hazleton, PA Darkside Records Poughkeepsie, NY Creep Records Philadelphia, PA The Groove Record Shop Norfolk, VA Daves Music Mine Pittsburgh, PA Exile On Main St. Brandord, CT Lakeshore Record Exchange Rochester, NY Repo Records Philadelphia, PA Plan 9 Richmond, VA Record Theatre Buffalo, NY Amherst, NY Audioccult Beacon, NY Bull Moose Portland, ME Keene, NH Brunswick, ME North Windham, ME Lewiston, ME Portsmouth, NH Sanford, ME Waterville, ME Bangor, ME Salem, NH Scarborough, ME South Portland, ME Cheap Thrills Princeton, WV Beckley, WV The Record Exchange Silver Spring, MD Frederick, MD Crooked Beat Washington, DC Criminal Records Atlanta, GA Disc Exchange Knoxville, TN Park Ave CDs Orlando, FL Monster Music Charleston, SC Grimey’s Nashville, TN School Kids Raleigh, NC Sunbrimmer Records Atlanta, GA Oz Music Tuscaloosa, AL Arkansas Record Exchange Little Rock, AR Daddy Kool Records St. Petersburg, FL T-Bones Hattiesburg, MS CD Cellar Anniston, AL CD Central Lexington, KY Bull City Records Durham, NC Earshot Greenville, SC Lunchbox Records Charlotte, NC Decatur CD Decatur, GA Earshot Winston-Salem, NC Schoolkids #2 Durham, NC Wax N Facts Atlanta, GA Harvest Records Asheville, NC Wuxtry Athens, GA Decatur, GA The Groove Nashville, TN East West Records Orlando, FL Radio Active Fort Lauderdale, FL The End of All Music Oxford, MS Seasick Records Birmingham, AL Horizon Records Greenville, SC Central Square Santa Rosa Beach, FL Guestroom Records Louisville, KY Mojo Vinyl Roswell, GA Peaches New Orleans, LA Fantasyland Records Atlanta, GA Euclid Records New Orleans, LA Gravity Records Wilmington, NC Wild Honey Records Knoxville, TN Sweat Records Miami, FL Fond Object Nashville, TN Al Bums Record Shoppe Acworth, GA Sounds Good Music St. Lucie, FL Graveface Records Savannah, GA Half Price Books Dallas, TX Graywhale Taylorsville, UT Bountiful, UT Ogden, UT Draper, UT Salt Lake City, UT Music Millennium Portland, OR Easy Street Records Seattle, WA Silver Platters Seattle, WA Bellevue, WA 1-2-3-4 Go! Records Oakland, CA San Francisco, CA Rainy Day Record Co. Olympia, WA Streetlight Records Santa Cruz, CA San Jose, CA 2nd Avenue Records Portland, OR Dimple Records Sacramento, CA Citrus Heights, CA Roseville, CA Elk Grove, CA Folsom, CA Davis, CA Everyday Music Portland, OR Beaverton, OR Seattle, WA Bellingham, WA Rasputin Music Berkeley, CA Campbell, CA Concord, CA Fresno, CA Modesto, CA Mountain View, CA San Francisco, CA San Lorenzo, CA Stockton, CA Fairfield, CA Boo Boo Records Inc San Luis Obispo, CA Jackpot Records Portland, OR Hi-Voltage Records Tacoma, WA
UK/Europe, we’re coming back to play some shows! Tickets are now available HERE.
February 24 – Engine Room – Southampton, United Kingdom February 25 – O2 Ritz – Manchester, United Kingdom February 26 – Leeds University Stylus – Leeds, United Kingdom February 28 – The Garage – Glasgow, United Kingdom February 29 – O2 Institute – Birmingham, United Kingdom March 1 – KOKO – London, United Kingdom March 3 – Le Trabendo – Paris, France March 4 – Bilbao Kafe Antzokia – Bilbao, Spain March 5 – Teatro Barcelo – Madrid, Spain March 6 – Paradise Garage – Lisbon, Portugal March 8 – Sala Apolo – Barcelona, Spain March 9 – Le Transbordeur Club – Lyon, France March 10 – Magazzini Generali – Milan, Italy March 11 – Mascotte – Zurich, Switzerland March 12 – Flex – Vienna, Austria March 15 – Conne Island – Leipzig, Germany March 16 – Backstage Werk – Munich, Germany March 17 – Lucerna Music Bar – Prague, Czech Republic March 18 – Proxima – Warsaw, Poland March 20 – SO36 – Berlin, Germany March 21 – Stollwerck – Cologne, Germany March 22 – AB Theatre – Brussels, Belgium March 23 – Tivoli de Helling – Utrecht – Netherlands March 26 – Gruenspan – Hamburg, Germany March 27 – KB – Malmo, Sweden March 29 – Debaser Medis – Stockholm, Sweden March 30 – Rockefeller – Oslo, Norway March 31 – Vega Small – Copenhagen, Denmark April 1 – Faust – Hannover, Germany April 2 – Alter Schlachthof – Wiesbaden, Germany
Our new album Purple comes out on Friday but starting today, we’d like to share the entire album with the world. We’re going to continue playing hide and seek, unless you are in Germany, Austria or Switzerland, in which case you can hear the album at Spiegel.de HERE.
If you are anywhere else in the world, we’re premiering every song on different websites throughout the day. To find the songs, search for #FindPurple on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr. If you find one, share it!
The artwork in each of these videos was done by the incredibly talented Marald van Haasteren (more on him and his work to follow). You’ll also start to recognize his art when you receive your physical copies of Purple.
