Time to catch up on some of the press for the new album release!

Joseph Arthur Announces 'The Graduation Ceremony' (May 24th / Lonely Astronaut),
His First Solo Album Since 2006’s 'Nuclear Daydream'


Photo credit: Myriam Santos

Joseph Arthur's music has been described as "a dynamic swirl of noise that somehow appears magically around him" (NPR), "emotional (but tuneful) exorcisms" (Entertainment Weekly), and "lush, poetic, squalling, spiritual, and strange. Just like life" (Boston Globe).

Vanity Fair has hailed him as "one of our most emotionally revealing and talented singer-songwriters." Michael Stipe once told the Los Angeles Times, "Jo is one of those rare writer-performers where you get the sense, whatever you believe, that something greater is being channeled through his music and voice…It touches something very deep and universal."


"There's nothing to do in the Midwest but dream," sings Joseph Arthur on 'The Graduation Ceremony' (May 24th / Lonely Astronaut).

Co-produced by John Alagia and Joseph, the release marks Arthur's first solo album since 'Nuclear Daydream' (2006) and follow up to 'Fistful of Mercy,' his 2010 collaboration with Ben Harper and Dhani Harrison.

"I wanted to make something simple," says Joseph, who originally planned to release the project as a duo with the album's drummer, legendary Jim Keltner (Bob Dylan, John Lennon).

'The Graduation Ceremony' began as a minimally produced, acoustic album of classic songwriting that grew to be an elegantly orchestrated, haunting body of work.

Joseph Arthur will be touring the US throughout 2011 and the Gershwin Hotel in New York City will be exhibiting his paintings for the month of June.


'The Graduation Ceremony' credits:

Produced by: John Alagia & Joseph Arthur
Recorded by: Sheldon Gomberg at Carriage House LA and John Alagia at Village Recording
Mixed by: John Alagia at Village Recording / Mastered by: Scott Hull at Masterdisk

Jim Keltner: Drums
Joseph Arthur: Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Keyboards, Drums
John Alagia: Guitar, Bass, Keyboards
Jessy Greene: Violin
Sibyl Buck, Brian Cohen, Madi Diaz, Liz Phair: Backing Vocals


Tracklisting:

01. Out on a Limb
02. Horses
03. Almost Blue
04. Someone to Love
05. Watch our Shadows Run
06. This Is Still My World
07. Over the Sun
08. Face in the Crowd
09. Midwest
10. Gypsy Faded
11. Call
12. Love Never Asks You to Lie


(from Band Weblogs, JamBase et al) - FR version

The Graduation Ceremony - Joseph Arthur (Bio)

If there's such a thing as the opposite of writer's block, Joseph Arthur has it. Indeed, the Akron, Ohio-bred/Brooklyn, N.Y.-residing singer/songwriter, who once released four EPs in the span of as many months, was deep into work on two distinct albums when the music that became The Graduation Ceremony suddenly bubbled to the forefront.

Arthur had written a new song, Out on a Limb, on a friend's guitar while in Los Angeles. That song turned into 10 additional acoustic tracks, which were recorded spontaneously at Sheldon Gomberg's studio in one marathon session. "I'm always looking for creative outlets when I'm in L.A., because L.A. scares me," Arthur says. "There's great energy in not being home. So I called Sheldon and said I had some songs to record, and would he be up for it? He said, 'Sure,' and I said, 'Well, I'm already outside. Can I come in?' (laughs) I went through all these tracks -- some old, some brand new ones that I hadn't recorded - on mostly first or second takes, and that was going to be a record."

But Arthur began to feel that the sessions were "undercooked and underproduced," so he turned to legendary drummer Jim Keltner to give them an extra kick. Keltner had played on Arthur's 2000 breakthrough album "Come To Where I'm From," and the pair had re-connected while working on Fistful of Mercy, the eponymous 2010 debut from Arthur's band with Ben Harper and Dhani Harrison.

To nudge the new material closer to completion, Arthur then teamed with producer John Alagia, at whose Village studio Fistful of Mercy had played its first public gig in 2010. Alagia had previously produced You're So True, Arthur's 2004 contribution to the Shrek 2 soundtrack.

"I said to John, 'Maybe you could mix this acoustic, Jim Keltner thing,'" Arthur says. "I gave it to him in the state it was in, but he thought it wasn't quite where it should be. So, he came to my place in Brooklyn and I played him all this different stuff I was doing. Then I went to his place in Santa Monica. We didn't know what we were doing - suddenly there were 50 different tracks from a bunch of different works-in-progress that were potentially going to be deconstructed."

"But it wound up coming all the way back to just the Jim Keltner stuff. It had a soul and a vibe. It was perfect. We could produce it up a little bit. All it really took was adding a little production on the choruses to make them pop out more." Under Alagia's direction, adding additional color were indie queen Liz Phair, who contributes vocals to "Midwest," violinist Jessy Greene, who also played on the Fistful of Mercy album, and Line and Circle front-man Brian Cohen, who sings throughout the record. Cohen, who grew up across the street from Arthur in Akron, Ohio, accompanied Arthur on the initial trip to Gomberg's studio, which birthed The Graduation Ceremony.

"Brian was like the other voice on this album. He's great in that context," Arthur says. "He's got a really great voice, and there's great chemistry between us. And, he was very supportive. He really helped this record out with his enthusiasm and support."

The finished product is one of Arthur's most beautiful, understated pieces of work in a two-decade career that includes seven prior studio albums and 11 EPs, plus collaborations with Peter Gabriel and R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe. The material is rife with Arthur's trademark poetic lyrics, whether sketching a portrait of his hometown (Midwest) or recounting a breakup in unflinching detail (Gypsy Faded).

Of the former, Arthur says, "That song has been in the cage for a long time. I have different versions of it. It's about childhood, and growing up in a town with a dead downtown, and going into your imagination out in suburbia." Of the latter, he reveals, "I was writing from the heart, even though it was a bad situation that was creating it. That song has a force because of it. It's hyper-real." Elsewhere, album opener Out on a Limb and Almost Blue harken back to dreamy, deeply felt songs like Honey and the Moon from 2002's Redemption's Son, while the strident Over the Sun deftly incorporates layers of vocals with atmospheric keyboard textures.

Arthur will release The Graduation Ceremony on his own Lonely Astronaut label. "This record is important for me right now. I feel like on some level I've been in the penalty box," he says with a chuckle. "I don't feel like the work I've put out warrants being in the penalty box, but maybe the manner I put it out is why. Or maybe there is no penalty box, or there is no me (laughs). Either way, it was important that I put out a strong record, and I think this fits the bill."

Growing up in the '70s and '80s in Akron, Arthur’s musical life started off like many others, with mandatory piano lessons. But once he realized he could use the piano to conjure up his own musical worlds, he took to the instrument and began writing songs, eventually playing in bands while in high school. Days after graduation, he moved to Atlanta with a band, playing bass and supporting himself with day jobs at a music store and tattoo shop.

At the time, Arthur aspired to be a world-class jazz or fusion bass player in the vein of the late Jaco Pastorius. But when a demo tape of Arthur’s songs somehow made its way to Peter Gabriel and his Real World Records label, “I came to find out that Peter thought the bass playing was weak on my stuff, but what he liked was the lyrics.”

Next thing Arthur knew, he was playing at Gabriel’s WOMAD festival (despite having played solo acoustic “maybe one time before”), jamming with Gabriel and Joe Strummer in Real World studios in Bath, England, and was subsequently signed to Real World Records. “It was crazy,” Arthur says. “I think I like repeating the story more the older I get.”

And while Arthur's 1997 debut, Big City Secrets, attracted a substantial following abroad, the artist didn't connect with Stateside listeners until Come To Where I'm From, which features his signature song, In the Sun. That track was covered by R.E.M.'s Stipe and Coldplay's Chris Martin in 2006 on a charity single to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina, having previously been recorded a decade earlier by Gabriel for a Princess Diana tribute album.

Previously nominated for a best recording package Grammy for his 1999 EP Vacancy, Arthur is an accomplished painter, having displayed his works in galleries around the world. His online-only “Museum of Modern Arthur” serves as a repository for his creations.

Written by Jonathan Cohen - FR version

New Song + Video : Joseph Arthur : Out On A Limb

Joseph Arthur has recently announced his first solo record since 2006’s Nuclear Daydream. The Graduation Ceremony was co-produced by Arthur and John Alagia, and boasts performances from drummer-to-the-stars Jim Keltner (Bob Dylan, John Lennon) and violinist Jessy Greene (Jayhawks, Foo Fighters, Afghan Whigs), as well as background vocals from Liz Phair. The record drops on May 24th and will be followed by a major U.S. tour.

This live rendition of Out On A Limb was recorded at City Winery in NYC on January 15th, 2011, and find Arthur joined by John Alagia, G. Wiz and Kraig Jarret Johnson. As a first taste of The Graduation Ceremony, it’s mighty promising.

>> visit article for video link <<

(from My Old Kentucky Blog)

Joseph Arthur - The Graduation Ceremony



Joseph Arthur - "I wanted to make something simple" states the critically acclaimed and prolific alt-pop songwriter returning with his first full studio album since 2006's "Nuclear Daydream"...follows up his four fine '08 EP's // Release: The Graduation Ceremony (May 24, Lonely Astronaut) // Quote: "I don’t really believe in 'writer’s block' because I’m always looking for a way to get what I’ve recorded and written released. I have ‘releasing block.’" // Sounds like: co-produced with John Alagia (John Mayer, Dave Matthews) the album was begun as a solo affair with Arthur and veteran drummer Jim Keltner. With Alagia behind the board (and backing instrumentally as well), the album was fleshed out to become "an elegantly orchestrated, haunting body of work" // What we like: "Out On A Limb" has been a live staple for a while, keeping all the traditional Arthur trappings intact -- falsetto chorus, twisty, minor chord melody -- in short, everything we've come to expect...

>> visit article link below to listen to MP3 of "Out On A Limb" (Live version) <<







(from Direct Current)

le retour en solo de Joseph Arthur...

... c'est pour le 26 avril. Le nouvel album du chanteur se nomme d'ores et déjà "The Graduation Ceremony", a été produit par John Alagia et a été enregistré avec l'aide (notammant de Liz Phair et Jim Keltner). Joseph Arthur reviendra présenter cet album en tournée solo au cours du mois de mai et (en fouillant bien dans notre mémoire), les concerts solos de Joseph Arthur, ça vaut vraiment le détour...

(from POPnews)

Nouvel album de Joseph Arthur

Après Fistful of Mercy, très moyenne réunion au sommet avec ses super potes Ben Harper et Dhani Harrison (fils de Georges), le songwriter prodige d’Akron nous revient en solitaire. The Graduation Ceremony, son premier opus solo depuis Temporary People (2007), sortira le 26 avril via la maison Fargo. Les douze titres ont été produit par l’américain John Alagia (Ben Folds Five, David Gray, Dave Matthews Band) et enregistré avec la participation du légendaire batteur Jim Keltner (John Lennon...) ainsi que la madonne rock Liz Phair.

The Graduation Ceremony, s’accompagnera d’une tournée solo dans l’hexagone en mai, "live & painting", qui s’annonce d’ores et déjà pleine de surprises. Les dates sont juste en dessous.

Joseph Arthur, The Graduation Ceremony (Fargo)

Tracklisting :
1. Out on a Limb
2. Horses
3. Almost Blue
4. Someone to Love
5. Watch our Shadows Run
6. This Is Still My World
7. Over the Sun
8. Face in the Crowd
9. Midwest
10. Gypsy Faded
11. Call
12. Love Never Asks You to Lie

Tournée française en Mai


mardi 29 mars 2011, par Paul-Ramone
(From Pinkushion)

Joseph Arthur: nouvel album, et concert parisien en Mai

Après une pause avec Fistful Of Mercy, Joseph Arthur reprend la route en solo.

Son nouvel album, The Graduation Ceremony, paraîtra le 24 Mai prochain. Co-produite avec John Alagia, la galette ne devrait pas décevoir, le songwriter nous ayant habitués à de belles choses (son dernier album, Nuclear Daydream (2006), était un petit bijou).

Le chanteur sera de passage à Paris pour un concert unique à L’Alhambra, le Mercredi 11 Mai.

Vous trouverez ci-dessous une vidéo de Joseph, interprétant « Out On A Limb », le premier single de The Graduation Ceremony.

>> visit article for video link <<


By: Christelle Bona on 02/04/2011
(from Esprit Rock)

Le retour solo de Joseph Arthur

En solo, Joseph Arthur a fait des albums remarquables. Nuclear Daydream est à mes yeux –et à mes oreilles- ce qu’il a fait de mieux et demeure l’un des meilleurs albums de 2006. En revanche, ses aventures avec les Lonely Astronauts ne m’ont guère convaincu. Il a d’ailleurs perdu quelques fidèles avec Let’s Just Be et Temporary People. Le prolifique artiste de l’Ohio s’en est-il rendu compte? Toujours est-il qu’on annonce son retour en solo le 24 mai (sur le label Indica, au Québec) avec un disque qui s’intitulera The Graduation Ceremony. On y trouvera notamment le légendaire Jim Keltner (George Harrison) à la batterie ainsi que différents collaborateurs venus enrichir les orchestrations des chansons. Pour l’avoir vu en spectacle l’automne dernier et y avoir entendu quelques perles, il m’a semblé fort inspiré le Joseph. J’ai bien aimé aussi l’aventure Fistful of Mercy avec Ben Harper et Dhani Harrison, qui était simple et sans prétention…

Et vous, l’attendez-vous ce Joseph Arthur?

Pour vous remettre dans le bain, prêtez l’oreille à Black Lexus ...


by Nicolas Houle, le Mardi 19 Avril 2011
(from Cyberpresse.ca / Blogues)

Joseph Arthur, un nuovo album dopo 5 anni

Joseph Arthur ha annunciato che il prossimo 24 maggio pubblicherà il suo nuovo album intitolato "Graduation ceremony". Il disco segnerà il ritorno discografico del cantante originario di Akron, Ohio, che si era allontanato dagli studi di registrazione in seguito alla realizzazione di "Nuclear daydream", nel 2006. Questi ultimi cinque anni comunque sono stati tutt'altro che infruttuosi per il musicista americano: Arthur ha infatti collaborato con Ben Harper e Dhani Harrison nei Fistful of Mercy e, nel frattempo, ha continuato a comporre brani e a lavorare sul materiale che avrebbe poi raccolto in "Graduation ceremony". Di seguito riportiamo la tracklist della prossima fatica discografica di Joseph Arthur:

'Out on a limb'
'Horses'
'Almost blue'
'Someone to love'
'Watch our shadows run'
'This is still my world'
'Over the sun'
'Face in the crowd'
'Midwest'
'Gypsy faded'
'Call'
'Love never asks you to lie'

(from rockol.it)

Joseph Arthur: Nieuwe cd en concert

Gek genoeg is Joseph Arthur in ons land een nog vrij onbekende. De artiest en kunstenaar komt voor een optreden naar Paradiso (vrijdag 6 mei Kleine zaal). Op 24 mei verschijnt zijn nieuwe cd "The graduation ceremony" de opvolger van het fantastische "Nuclear daydream" uit 2006. Aanvankelijk was de opzet om er een ”uitgeklede", akoestische cd van te maken, maar gaandeweg liep het proces totaal anders: "I wanted to make something simple,” says Joseph, who originally planned to release the project as a duo with the album’s drummer, the legendary Jim Keltner (Bob Dylan, John Lennon). The Graduation Ceremony began as a minimally produced, acoustic album of classic songwriting that grew to be an elegantly orchestrated, haunting body of work. Vanity Fair has hailed him as "one of our most emotionally revealing and talented singer-songwriters." Michael Stipe once told the Los Angeles Times, "Jo is one of those rare writer-performers where you get the sense, whatever you believe, that something greater is being channeled through his music and voice…It touches something very deep and universal." Op naar de kleine zaal van Paradiso om deze in Nederland behoorlijk onderschatte man een keer live aan het werk te zien. In het filmpje vast een voorproefje van zijn nieuwe album.

(from Stilllife)