Julian Lage has announced a surprise studio album. Titled The Layers, it will be his third on Blue Note, and a companion piece to last year’s breathtaking View With A Room – an album which saw Lage augment his trio with the legendary Bill Frisell for one of the guitar highlights of 2022.
Lage describes The Layers as a prequel to View With A Room, its six tracks investigating the source influences and inspirations behind the recording. Half of it, including the title track, which he has shared on YouTube, was performed on acoustic guitar.
Indeed, the video for The Layers finds Lage in the company of Jorge Roeder on standup bass, playing his Collings OM1 JL signature guitar. The sound of which, allied to the warm low-end thwump of Roeder’s bass is something to behold.
“It has all the musical seeds that grew into what I consider the touchstones of View With A Room,” says Lage. “A duo with Bill, a duo with Jorge, more atmospheric and expansive writing, Dave and Jorge’s incredible rhythmic and orchestrational sensibilities.
“View With A Room is a comprehensive look at these musical qualities we were so excited to explore in the studio, and The Layers offers a distillation of the various relationships within the ensemble and production team. Taken as a whole, The Layers has a heartbeat all of its own.”
Lage hooked up with his regular production team for the recording. The Layers was once more produced by Margaret Glaspy, who is also Lage’s wife, while Mark Goodell recorded the album, and Armand Hirsch provided additional production.
The album’s release precedes with a comprehensive tour of the UK and Europe in spring, which kicks off on 27 April at Manchester’s Band On The Wall. See Julian Lage for full dates and tickets.
The Layers is available to preorder and is released on 17 March via Blue Note.
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