New release | Karl S Williams
As far as albums go, Lifeblood is the monstrous, all-consuming creative undertaking that now deserves to be heard - and like a lot of people, Karl S. Williams is angry. Written and recorded against the backdrop of several turbulent years Lifeblood encapsulates both personal trials and the heartbreak of a society witnessing its own decay. The album touches on Trump-era politics, the ongoing proliferation of profit-before-people and growing disunity, disconnection and disenfranchisement in all corners.
“I feel it is necessary for any vital art to turn a mirror upon the society in which it is spawned. My belief is that ultimately a society is made up of individuals who think, feel and love – so maybe the best place to point that mirror is at the heart.” – Karl S. Williams
This is a people-powered project born of pure creative necessity - an approach that pervades the entire release as it is conducted entirely independently; a return to the basics.
Karl S. Williams and his band will bring the album to the people with an expansive tour of regional and metropolitan venues from February to April 2020. Preferring smaller, darker rooms, each show on the Lifeblood tour will also feature an exhibition of Karl’s ink drawings showcasing another side of this multifaceted artist.
For all who have something to say, rage to dissipate or creed to cry to the wind; this is perhaps the album to carry with you into the days that are to come. This is the music that keeps alight the flame of hope - and the chance to see this important work live should not be missed.
MORE ABOUT KARL
Karl S. Williams – singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, visual artist and poet – an artist that you never saw coming. A genre defying and multifaceted musician, for whom music is a vocation and the solution is, to love more. What makes Karl truly remarkable, is that he is unafraid. With complete humility and the charisma of a ‘rock-star’, he wears his heart on his sleeve, he speaks universal truths and he crosses boundaries. This is blues, roots, folk and rock .. and Americana, if you will … but not at as you know it.
Karl’s music is steeped in the swamp water of the cane country of Northern NSW, the landscape of his childhood. His songs are a distillation of life, love and the human condition. Timeless and deeply rooted in tradition, yet ever conversant with the present. As a performer, he is at once beautifully vulnerable and then transcendent.
“He’s a wrecking ball, a loaded gun. He’s an unmerciful magistrate. He’s “a daisy-cutting, motherfucking judgement day.” – Martin Farrer, The Guardian
Delivered with powerful conviction that takes your breath away - whether solo or with his incandescent band - a Karl S. Williams performance is frequently referred to as a visceral and ‘spiritual experience’, leaving an audience slightly altered in the best way possible.
