Finding inspiration from The New York Times Magazine’s “1619 Project,” James Weldon Johnson’s “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” as well as the work of historian Taylor Branch, Grammy-award winning pianist, singer and songwriter Bruce Hornsby debuts “Bright Star Cast.” The song features vocals from Chicago-based Jamila Woods, guitar from Vernon Reid (Living Colour) and several of his new musician friends from Eau Claire, WI and Minneapolis. “This attempt marks the seventh song of my career that deals with the issue of race in America, a deep, seemingly intractable problem that never seems to be solved in any satisfactory way- until, hopefully, now,” notes Hornsby. Check it out below…
The song was produced by Hornsby, Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), Brad Cook (Sharon Van Etten, Hiss Golden Messenger) and Wayne Pooley (Bon Iver, Jack DeJohnette). “Bright Star Cast” appears on Hornsby’s forthcoming album, Non-Secure Connection, out on August 14 and now available for pre-order at https://orcd.co/nonsecureconnection.
Hornsby’s music changed when he started having the genesis of his songs be from film music. Through composing for writer and director Spike Lee, Hornsby would often feel that the certain atmospheric quality of a “cue” he’d written should be developed into a song. About this unique approach, Hornsby notes, “It takes my music to a place that I like that sets it apart from other things I’ve done. I’m often looking to make a sound that I haven’t heard before and find a place in what I guess is the context of popular song for some new information.” Hornsby’s continued growth as a musician enables him to build upon and explore new musical techniques. On Non-Secure Connection, he’s created something different that touches on a broad range of themes, from civil rights to computer hackers, mall salesmen and the Darwinian aspects of AAU basketball.
“The new album’s chromaticism and dissonance quotient is exactly twice as high (three songs featuring that language compared to one and a half on the last record),” says Hornsby of Non-Secure Connection. “I feel like my music has never been a part of any trend that defined any era of music during my 34 years of doing this. I may be wrong, but that’s how it feels to me.”
Predominantly produced by Hornsby, the 10-track album includes added production from Justin Vernon, Cook, Pooley and Tony Berg (Phoebe Bridgers, Andrew Bird, Aimee Mann), who Hornsby credits as the album’s “aesthetician and ombudsman.” Non-Secure Connection also includes musical contributions from Mercer, Vernon, Woods, Reid, Leon Russell, Rob Moose and Hideaki Aomori of yMusic, The Orchestra of St. Hanks (Frost School/Univ. of Miami), Hornsby’s longtime band The Noisemakers and more. The tracks “Non-Secure Connection” and “Porn Hour” were co-written with Chip deMatteo and “Anything Can Happen” was co-written with Russell, who appears thanks to a demo that he and Hornsby recorded together more than 25 years ago.
