
Dawn Richard has proven time and time again that she doesn’t fit neatly in a box. Since her Danity Kane and Diddy-Dirty Money days, she’s taken her solo career into her hands, releasing a steady blend of music that’s delved into R&B, pop, electronica and the brass band sounds of her New Orleans hometown. Now she returns with her latest project, Pigments, a collaboration with producer-musician Spencer Zahn that finds her digging even deeper into her creative bag.
Over the course of the album’s 11-tracks – each taking its name from a different color – Richard and Zahn take listeners on a meditative journey that is sure to leave them feeling relaxed and introspective. The first “movement” released from Pigments includes “Coral,” “Sandstone,” “Indigo” and “Vantablack.” The mostly instrumental tracks feel transcendent especially when Richards comes in with her hypnotic ruminations.
In addition to marking her foray into New Age, Richard also makes her directorial debut with the video for “Vantablack.” Filmed In New Orleans and featuring a solo dance from a student from the city’s famed New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, the video follows the song’s journey of loving the skin you’re in as a Black woman. Richard’s layered vocals add a spiritual element to the experience, further reiterating the song’s transformative message.
Pigments will mark Dawn's first release since 2021’s Second Line and her second on Merge Records. After working together on Zahn’s 2018 album, People Of The Dawn, collaborating again felt like the next natural step on her artistic journey.
“I felt like the tools that I and other people like me were dealt weren’t shiny. Yet we still painted these beautiful pictures,” she explained in a statement. “This album is what it means to be a dream and finally reach a place where you’ve decided to love the pigments that you have.”
Pigments is currently available for pre-order ahead of its Friday, October 21st release. Until then, check out the stream of Pigments Movement 1 and "Vantablack" video below to be transported on this calm and soothing journey.