Matana Roberts announces Coin Coin Chapter Five: In the garden... and UK live dates

The fifth instalment of her vast project exploring African-American history through ancestry, archive and place, the album weaves together elements of jazz, avant-garde composition, folk and spoken word, as Matana Roberts tells the story of a woman in their ancestral line, “who died following complications from an illegal abortion”.

At a time when reproductive rights are under attack in the US, Roberts explains how this influenced the music: “I wanted to talk about this issue, but in a way where she gets some sense of liberation,” to create a portrait of a woman who is, as the lyrics put it, “electric, alive, spirited, fire and free.”

The album features Roberts and fellow alto saxophonist Darius Jones, alongside violinist Mazz Swift, bass clarinettist Stuart Bogie, alto clarinettist Matt Lavelle, pianist Cory Smythe, vocalist/actor Gitanjali Jain and percussionists Ryan Sawyer and Mike Pride. The late, trumpeter Jaimie Branch, who was due to play on the album, receives a credit for “courage”. The album is produced by TV On The Radio’s Kyp Malone, who also contributes synths.

Ahead of the album’s release Roberts visits the UK for three dates as part of her European tour – performing in a duo at Moment’s Notice, Amp Studios, Old Kent Road, London (31 August); solo at the Old Hairdressers, Glasgow (2 Sept); and a special audio-visual performance of Coin Coin Chapter Three at Birmingham’s Supersonic Festival (3 Sept).

For more info visit matana-roberts.bandcamp.com/album/coin-coin-chapter-five-in-the-garden