Lonnie Holley is a sorcerer. If you think that’s a hyperbole, then obviously you’ve never listened to Lonnie Holley. No encounter with the mystic artist ever ends the same way; objects that other mortals regard as trash transform in his hands; every blazing prophecy that he conjures on the keyboard vanishes unless someone’s on hand to capture it. Of course, by now, you already know what “I Woke Up in a Fucked-Up America” alludes to, but that doesn’t dampen the trapdoor-under-your-feet dread, as Holley cries over the thunderous cacophony: “And that folk don’t count, and that folk don’t count.” The video, directed by Matt Arnett and Ethan Payne, only heightens the feeling of foreboding with a steady stream of American artifacts, iconography, and sculptures that confront our country’s grim and, yes, entirely fucked-up racial legacy.
While the Alabama-born guru hasn’t dropped any new music in over five years, he’s been busy round this city (and elsewhere) in the interim, from orchestrating live jam sessions at Eddie’s Attic to a solo exhibition at the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center. With all the astral divination that he’s brought us, then, it’s a teensy sad that major indie imprint Jagjaguwar signed Holley this year, effectively yanking him away from local archive label Dust to Digital. But if that means more people will seek the sage advice no doubt traced into the living legend’s upcoming album MITH, then so be it.
MITH is out Sept. 21. Pre-orders are available here.
More Info
Web: lonnieholley.com
Bandcamp: lonnieholley.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @LonnieHolley
Instagram: @lonnieholleysuniverse
Twitter: @lonnieholley