An album to capture the frenetic, high octane experience of an acoustic Cannonball Statman concert in a time when a lot of our fans just don’t have enough disposable income to buy gig tickets.

This is also the first of my studio collaborations with France de Griessen, a pairing described by Renaud Monfourny in Les Inrockuptibles as “a beautiful musical friendship”.

France contributed her brilliant vocal parts to this album that some of you were lucky enough to catch on our tour dates together in 2023 and 2024. She played keys and percussion on a few songs as well, and did an incredible photo series about the making of the album.

In December 2024, we had a release party for the album in Oaxaca at Centro Cultural Liliana Loth, where I played some songs from the album and from some of my earlier releases, including rare acoustic versions of “Winter in Brooklyn”, “Concussions”, and “F Train Over Brooklyn” as a duo with David Brown on clarinet, and a surprise collaboration with Gabriel Martinez. The party also featured a show of new pieces by the visual artist Saabe, readings by several Oaxacan and international poets and translators, and live music by Avtar Khalsa. A full recap of the event can be found here.

released October 17, 2024

Cannonball Statman on guitars, bass, vocals, percussion, and keys

France de Griessen on additional vocals, percussion, and keys

Jojo Rita on melodica (tracks 2, 3, 5, and 10) and additional vocals (track 10)

Amazilia on saxophone (tracks 2, 4, 10, and 12) and additional vocals (track 10)

Negrita Yani on accordion (tracks 7, 9, and 11)

Edd Martin, Imogen Martin, Rosie Martin, and Albie Martin on additional vocals (tracks 10 and 11)

Produced, engineered, mixed, and mastered by Ben Turner at Axe & Trap Studios, UK

Accordion recordings engineered by Jaziel Dominguez in Oaxaca, Mexico

Photography by France de Griessen

Music, lyrics, and album artwork design and layout by Cannonball Statman

See also: photos and videos from the Theme from Cannonball Statman Single Release Party at Centro Cultural Liliana Loth, Oaxaca, 11 August 2024