Dear Mailing List,
Ze Books weren’t fooling anyone on April 1st when they released the American paperback of And the Roots of Rhythm Remain. The hardcover was selling so fast (11,000 in the UK and US combined) that they had to move the paperback release forward.
For those of you residing in or around either the Big Apple or ‘the 6ix’, the final week of my months long North American tour kicks off at 7pm Wednesday April 9th with the American paperback party at the Powerhouse in Dumbo and winds up at 2pm Sunday April 13th with a Canadian launch at Toronto’s Rivoli Theater.
The past month has been a great adventure, about which I will report more fully when I settle back into my London vinyl cathedral. We’ve travelled from the Hudson Valley to Chicago to Minneapolis, spent six wonderful days at the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, then carried on to Atlanta, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington. We’ve had great presenters, booksellers and interlocutors, met wonderful people, renewed friendships and heard some great music. All shall be revealed in the next newsletter.
I can also belatedly announce the release of the audiobook. Recording it took many months, countless throat lozenges and cups of Throat Coat tea, but all 42 hours of it were finally uploaded just before Christmas. (It’s available on amazon, audible, apple and, in Europe, on Spotify.)
Getting our flights to Toronto wasn’t easy since, for some reason, Canadians seem to be rushing home in great numbers. Booking the return to NY, though, was a breeze. Funny that. Last autumn, we travelled the US in a MAGA-free bubble; the upcoming election was barely discussed. Now, it’s ‘back in the USSA’, with anxiety and oppression palpable everywhere. I can, however, make the rash generalization that music seems to bring out the best in people and I continue to be inspired by those who have dedicated their lives to it, performing, collecting, chronicling and avidly listening.
More soon.
All the best,
Joe
Here are a few new interviews and podcasts:
Interview with Banning Eyre on Afropop Worldwide
Feature by Laura Barton in Prospect Magazine
Wall Street Journal review by Larry Blumenfeld