An apocalyptic concept album for the Age of Extinction. Click “Buy Now” to buy the physical CD:
- RELEASED ON CD: 08 MARCH 2019 on Hounds of Renown Records (HRR006)
- RELEASED ON Spotify, Apple Music, CD Baby etc: 01 MAY 2019
- More Info
ABOUT THE PROJECT
David Barrows has a variety of talents – saxophonist, composer, lyricist, laptop performance artist, producer, software developer, blogger and activist. Originally from L.A., now living in north London, he’s a grizzled veteran of many collaborations and solo projects. Now in early 2019, he’s made a surprising record bound to spark some controversy in certain circles.
“The Species That Knew Too Much” is an apocalyptic concept album that Barrows describes as a kind of “Dark Side of the Moon for the Age of Extinction”. He points a mirror at a dystopian world threatened by uncontrolled AI development, climate change, species loss, destructive nationalism, sectarian conflict, the murder of journalists, mysogyny and other evils. It may sound depressing, but the result is ten songs of beauty and integrity. It takes courage to discuss these issues – listeners get enough depressing information from the news, so they may prefer escapism in their music. But with great songs and a crack team of London session musicians including Iain Hornal from ELO on vocals, it’s actually a superb record whose bleakness makes for a thought-provoking statement. And with the single “Apocalypso”, there is a glimmer of hope – a new dance craze that may save our species.
Mr. Barrows says “I felt the sort of utopian message songs I might have been compelled to write in the past just wouldn’t cut it for this record, in light of the existential threats we face today. Politicians and elites are essentially fiddling while Rome burns. Their followers are in denial, carrying on business as usual, itching to fight each other and build walls. But these problems affect us all, regardless of nationality, tribe or religion. You can wave your flag, but if we go down, we all go down together. At this critical juncture, we need to put aside our differences and work together to save our species. But given our track record, I’m not sure we will. So it’s a race against time. I do have hope – we can turn it around – but I’m with the rebellion, the people working to save us, and I encourage everybody to get on board. It’s possible to beat your opponent on their home court, if you have hope – but you also have to have a plan. And for me, that plan involves looking at certain potential worst-case scenarios, which is what I’m trying to do with this album, in an artistic way.”
Mr. Barrows has some cool credentials. He studied with jazz master Joe Henderson, made six albums on his own label, worked as a saxophone sideman with many artists and bands, toured several continents, and worked in a wide array of styles that are reflected in this album, including jazz, funk, rock, ska, blues, hip-hop, Latin, electronica and contemporary music. He’s also written music for film, theatre and computer games including the classic “Lego Island”.
He’s also got creativity in the blood – his aunt wrote the 1967 U.S. #1 song “Windy” by The Association, and his parents were hit television writers in Hollywood in the 1960s on shows like Mission Impossible, Bonanza and others. But after some success, in 1970, when Barrows was six years old, his mother committed suicide. His 2012 album, “Dead Man’s Cake”, was a cathartic “art against suicide” project he wrote to try to address the tragedy, and raise awareness and money for mental health charities. His new album also tries, in a way, to prevent suicide – of our species.
Previously Mr. Barrows released several other albums on his indie label Hounds of Renown Records, including two jazz albums, an album of Pablo Neruda poetry set to music, and a mid-2000s anti-war rock-electronica album by “earRotator”. This new album, “The Species That Knew Too Much”, has taken his work to a new level, and comes as a sobering but essential and timely statement. He cites influences such as Steely Dan, Pink Floyd, Elvis Costello, Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Joni Mitchell as some of the artists whose work influenced this album. Some proceeds go to Extinction Rebellion.
Dave was planning to perform the album with a laptop initially in small London venues, but then the pandemic happened. So he’s working on a streaming thing which he hopes to put out soon.
“The Species That Knew Too Much” by David Barrows was released on Spotify, Apple Music and other online platforms, on May 1st 2019.
