UK-based cinematic break-beat trio GoGo Penguin has announced their forthcoming new album Everything is Going To be OK (April 14, SONY/XXIM Records), a sonically liberated new direction for the band, born of a period of deep personal loss, mourning, and triumph. The first single “Glimmerings” is a sublime first offering from the new project exemplifying the Gogo Penguin 2.0 era that is beginning. Pre-order the album HERE.

With the optimism of new beginnings – a new drummer (Jon Scott, formerly of Mulatu Astatke’s band joins pianist/synthesist Chris Illingsworth and bassist Nick Blacka),  a new record label, (Sony Music electronica and neo-classical imprint XXIM Records), and a subtly updated and developed sound, the Mercury Music Prize-nominated band are ushering in a new era with Everything is Going To be Okay. An inimitable trio with a truly captivating and quasi-magical presence, their music is both transformational and ethereal.

One of the first tracks that was recorded for EIGTBO, “Glimmerings” is exactly as its title suggests: the flickering first moments of something newly created, both literally and metaphorically. Its title, bassist Nick Blacka explains, was inspired by British Professor Anil Seth’s book Being You:

“The word glimmerings stood out when I was reading a book by Anil Seth called ‘Being You’. The book is about the science of consciousness and in the Prologue, he talks about how ‘glimmerings of ideas began to emerge’. It felt like the perfect way to describe the process of thought and creativity. Glimmerings — one of the first songs we started on the new album – started from a small kernel on the synth and over time we added more and more layers until it became something a lot more complex. The idea behind the title is the very beginning, where there is only an idea and an intent to start with, but you have an aim and an idea, and you have to trust in the process.”

Everything is Going To be OK was born during a time of turbulence and loss. Recorded in a personally difficult period for the band, which included deep personal loss and mourning– bassist Nick Blacka lost his mother and brother to cancer only months apart, and pianist Chris Illingsworth lost his grandmother– whilst the band also grappled with the departure (albeit amicable) of their longtime drummer. Blacka and Illingsworth drew closer together during this time of loss and upheaval, and welcomed new drummer Jon Scott.  

The album studio time offered the band a sanctuary from real life, and the resulting project draws its strength from a shared understanding and empathy, with a truly vibrant and hopeful sonic direction. Life has many great aspects to it and despite the lows, we should be mindful and grateful to celebrate the highs at every turn. Through our hardships, together, we will emerge stronger; everything is going to be ok.

Photo Courtesy: Veil Projects