For further listening—Brian Eno and Beatie Wolfe—we just announced their spectacular new albums! “Luminal” and “Lateral” to be released on June 6 via Verve. This unique collaboration was born from their initial meeting through a conversation at the 2022 SXSW festival called “Art and Climate.” Yet though they hadn’t met previously, their conversation sparked an equally dynamic artistic collaboration. This collaboration led to the development of these albums.
The duo started recording intermittently in early 2022, inspired by that same mantra and a mutual desire to tap into the purpose of music — to make you feel something. Wolfe and Eno emphasize the significance of feelings in their work, stating, “Music is about making feelings happen. Some of those feelings are familiar, while others may not be—or may be complex mixtures of several different feelings.”
Each album has at least one single recently released that can be enjoyed by clicking on it below. “Suddenly” from “Luminal” and “Big Empty Country (Edit)” from “Lateral,” both of which have music videos that are now available to watch online. Together, these tracks reflect the artists’ willingness to deeply explore their emotions. They understand that a work of art might be the only stand-in “mother” for a thousand different emotions.
The pair are really drawn to the idea of emotional currency with artwork. These are some of the words included in their TED talk about how many languages have gorgeous words for emotions that English doesn’t get to express. By providing a name for the feeling, they claim, it suddenly becomes more possible to feel it and know that you’re feeling it.
As musicians, Eno and Wolfe are working together to create an emotive terrain. Ultimately, their aim is to encourage listeners to engage more fully and directly with their own emotions. The music they create is much more than an enjoyable good time. It is an access point into unpacking deeper emotional layers.
With the release date drawing closer, fans of both artists are tizzied with excitement. They’re looking forward to hearing some of the newest, most cutting-edge sounds and concepts in “Luminal” and “Lateral.”