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Aug 27, 2019 By Christopher Roberts Photography by Tonje Thilesen Vagabon

Vagabon (aka Lætitia Tamko) is releasing a new self-titled album on October 18 via Nonesuch. Now she has shared another song from it, “Water Me Down.” Listen below, followed by her upcoming tour dates.

Tamko had this to say about the song in a press release: “I wrote ‘Water Me Down’ in a stream of consciousness way in the few minutes following a frustrating phone call with someone. Coincidentally, I was at my friend Eric Litmann’s house who has a recording setup in his bedroom. I sat on his bed on a winter NYC night with a standard 58 mic up close to my face, and laid down the bulk of this song that night. We then went in and collaborated on the different textures… I tackled drums, arrangement, melodies and production. Eric played the synths and handled co-production. My intention with ‘Water Me Down’ was to create a playground in which to explore difficult feelings with confidence, triumph and foresight.”

Previously the album was titled All the Women in Me and due out September 27, but last week she announced that the album title and release date were both changing. Also, the album’s first single was originally titled “Flood Hands” but is now just titled “Flood” and another track from the album had a title change from “All The Women” to “Every Woman.” The lyrics for both songs were also changed. This was all because a poet wouldn’t give Tamko her blessing to reference her work in the songs.

“My original album title and two lyrics were inspired by and referenced poetry by a writer I greatly admire, Nayyirah Waheed,” Tamko said in a press statement about the changes to her album. “When I learned that she preferred I not quote her words, I made changes out of respect for her wishes.”

Vagabon is Vagabon’s second album, the follow-up to her 2017-released debut Infinite Worlds, and is her first for Nonesuch. Tamko wrote and produced the entire album herself. “Flood Hands” (or “Flood” now) was one of our Songs of the Week.

In a previous press release Tamko set the scene for where she was at prior to recording the new album: “I was in a pretty tortured headspace when I returned home from touring Infinite Worlds. That album contained some of the first songs I’d ever written, and more people than I could have ever imagined heard it. I was proud to become a full-time musician and recognized how rare of a thing that is, but was also debilitated by the very same fact. Fear overtook me and I couldn’t write. I felt stagnant and unsure of what to do next.”

Unlike Infinite Worlds, Vagabon has less of a straight up indie rock guitar sound, with more electronic textures. “With this album, I wanted to impress myself,” Tamko said in the previous press release. “I wanted to be curious and I wanted to make big leaps as a producer. All I had access to on the road was my computer and Logic, so naturally I started writing songs electronically with what was at hand.”

Tamko added: “The drums and vocal forward approach I took on [Vagabon] is drawn from my love for rap and hip-hop production as well as R&B and folk storytelling. That’s the music that got me excited about writing again.”

Vagabon Tracklist:

1. Full Moon In Gemini
2. Flood
3. Secret Medicine
4. Water Me Down
5. In A Bind
6. Wits About You
7. Please Don’t Leave The Table
8. Home Soon
9. Every Woman
10. Full Moon In Gemini (Monako Reprise)

Vagabon Dates:

10/15 - Brooklyn, NY @ National Sawdust
10/17 - Los Angeles, CA @ Pico Union Project
10/21 - London, UK @ St. Pancras Old Church
10/22 - Brussels, BE @ Autumn Falls @ Botanique - Brussels (B)
10/23 - Berlin, DE @ Kantine am Berghain
10/24 - Paris, FR @ Hasard Ludique
10/30 - Asbury Park, NJ @ Asbury Lanes *
10/31 - Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music Hall *
11/1 - Washington, DC @ Lincoln Theatre *
11/4 - Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse *
11/5 - New Orleans, LA @ Civic Theatre *
11/7 - Austin, TX @ Stubb’s (Levitation) *
11/8 - Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater *
11/9 - Oklahoma City, OK @ The Criterion *
11/10 - Lawrence, KS @ The Granada *
11/12 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue *
11/13 - Madison, WI. @ The Sylvee *
11/14 - Chicago, IL @ The Riviera Theatre *
11/15 - Detroit, MI. @ Royal Oak Music Theatre *
11/16 - Toronto, ON @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre *
11/18 - Montreal, QC @ mTelus *
11/19 - Boston, MA @ Royale *
11/22 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel *
12/2 - Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren *
12/3 - San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park *
12/5 - Los Angeles, CA @ Palace Theater *
12/7 - Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater *
12/9 - Portland, OR @ Roseland *
12/10 - Vancouver, BC @ The Orpheum Theatre *
12/11 - Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre *
12/13 - Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot *
12/14 - Denver, CO @ The Gothic Theatre *
12/15 - Denver, CO @ The Gothic Theatre *

* w/ Angel Olsen

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