Alana Yorke Shares New Singles, “Tidal Wave” & “Preludium” From Upcoming Album, Destroyer
Alana Yorke returns with a double single offering and ‘dance-tasy’ video for “Tidal Wave,” and she pairs it with a contrasting composition, “Preludium”. Alana recently announced her new full-length album, Destroyer, an art-pop stunner that represents both a creative triumph and a personal transformation and will be released on May 17, 2024, on Paper Bag Records.
“Something that may come as a surprise, is that Tidal Wave was written as a bit of a joke song after watching Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp which featured the Pat Benatar-style song, Heart – Attack Love by Craig Wedren,” quips Alana. “The energy of that music was so contagious, I tried writing something in that vein as a bit of an experiment for a laugh. There’s definitely a relationship story couched in this song which was inspired by a real-life feeling, but my songs often start as a kernel of real, intense emotion, then the stories take on their own lives. Tidal Wave is about unrequited love; a crush; attraction… something that you know will lead to heartbreak before it even starts, and a power struggle in that play.”
The video for “Tidal Wave” is about the different parts of the self and the relationships between those parts. Director Annaka Gale coined the term and Alana worked intently on the “dance-tasy” visual concept over many months. The previous single, “Marion” also channelled movement within a modern expressionist dance piece, shot in Indian Harbour in a stunning setting, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Alana holds movement and dance as a continued elemental part of her story, both as an artist and a stroke survivor.
One morning in November 2022, Alana realized she was unable to move her left arm. A few days (and numerous hospital tests) later, she discovered she’d had a hemorrhagic stroke that affected the right hemisphere of her brain (associated with creative expression) in the parietal lobe (responsible for receiving and filtering sensory input), she also lost the use and ability to move the left side of her body. As soon as she was able to begin the gruelling process of recovery, she started to incorporate Pilates movements (Joseph Pilates was known for working with dancers and specifically injured dancers in NYC in the early twentieth century). As Alana healed from her stroke, and fought back and willed herself to relearn and return in a renewed state, she also continues to encourage her body to move.
From its genesis that initially began in 2016, Destroyer was anchored in the idea of a solitary descent to face the self and come back wholly changed. The universe of Destroyer, created in collaboration with husband and co-producer Ian Bent, is an otherworld where snapshots of Yorke’s psychic landscape are fanned out against a layered musical backdrop coloured by a 21-piece string orchestra, the ultraviolet cool of ’80’s synth-pop, the austere grace and rhythmic cadences of minimalist contemporary composers and the whole-hearted reverberation of anthems that call forth echoes from the unconscious, somewhere between the tidal forces of Kate Bush and Philip Glass. Toward the end of the gargantuan multi-year effort of making the album, Yorke’s survival of a stroke led to unparalleled experiences of existence, and an extraordinary journey of recovery. Now as she rises above the surface, Destroyer has become an offering from the depths, intended to transform emotions from her singular experience into a gift of universal resonance.
Pre-order Destroyer here.
Upcoming Shows:
March 18, The Stage at St Andrew’s (Rising Tide Series, w/ Talia Schlanger), Halifax, NS Tickets/Info
March 30, Evergreen Theatre (w/ Taryn Kawaja), Margaretsville, NS Tickets/Info
Connect with Alana Yorke:
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