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Yola releases new album Stand For Myself today via Easy Eye Sound

YOLA 

ANTHEMIC NEW ALBUM STAND FOR MYSELF OUT NOW VIA EASY EYE SOUND

LISTEN

STARLIGHT – AN ALBUM RELEASE CELEBRATION CONCERT WITH YOLA

STREAMING WORLDWIDE ON WEDNESDAY AUGUST 4, 19.00 BST

TICKETS ON SALE HERE

HEAR YOLA COVER BEYONCE ‘LOVE ON TOP’ ON 

THE ZOE BALL BBC R2 BREAKFAST SHOW

WATCH YOLA PERFORM “STAND FOR MYSELF” ON 

THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT

NEW SONG “DANCING AWAY IN TEARS” DEBUTED WITH AFROPUNK.COM 

“‘Stand for Myself,’ an album made on her own terms.” 

The New York Times

“After a life full of trials, the British singer is ready to meet her moment.” 

Rolling Stone

“The Bristol born, Nashville-based singer is usurping expectations.” 

 Variety 

“Her vocals recall the poise and grandeur of music’s greatest vintage pop singers.”  ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY 

“Is anyone blending genres as seamlessly as Yola is right now?”

Esquire  

Yola is a superstar whose career is about to explode.” 

 Elton John

Friday July 30  – Yola today released her anthemic album, Stand For Myself, hailed as a sonic shift, by publications including The New York Times who stated, “‘Stand for Myself’ draws from the same Americana soundbook as Yola’s first record, but it’s also shot through with disco and pop.” Rolling Stone Magazine described it as “an album that reflects her musical journey, with songs that nod to various styles of R&B and dance music,” and W Magazine declared the album “a dopamine-inducing blend of gravelly country patina and pop polish that showcases Yola’s vocal prowess without sacrificing her message for commercial salience.” 

This week Yola debuted disco inflected album track, “Dancing Away In Tears” with AFROPUNK.com, who stated, “‘Dancing Away In Tears’ is a hook-filled ode to the realization that pain is fleeting, but vinyl is forever.”

Discussing the meaning of the song Yola stated, “There are times you just need to cut and run, but sometimes you need only slowly waltz away waving a sorry goodbye wishing it could’ve gone another way. Either way, you’re out.”

Yola recently announced Starlight, a celebration of Yola’s anthemic new record, Stand For Myself, with a performance of the entire album, taped in front of a live audience during this year’s Newport Folk-On event. It will be streamed across multiple time zones on Wednesday, August 4 via Moment House, at 19.00 BST in the UK. For more information please visit: https://www.momenthouse.com/yola 

The Observer added to the plethora of praise for Stand For Myself, stating, “by rights, Yola should be trumpeted as one of the UK’s hottest exports” and The i Paper acclaimed, “Stand For Myself is infectious”. MOJO saw “an enthralling step on her musical voyage”, where The Sunday Times Culture championed “a stirring ode to positivity and inclusivity” and Uncut proclaimed, “Yola’s voice, one of the mightiest in pop music today” in a lead album review.

Yola performed live on the BBC Radio 2 Zoe Ball breakfast show this morning, including a stunning rendition of her latest single, Starlight, and an exclusive cover of Beyonce’s Love On Top. Listen here.

Yola appeared on All Things Considered chatting with host Ari Shapiro about being “fully ready to claim her spotlight” and was the recent cover star of American Songwriter and Flood Magazine

Credit: Joseph Ross Smith

Esquire Magazine and Billboard included “Diamond Studded Shoes” in the best songs of 2021 and the album also received positive album reviews with publications from PopMatters to Under The Radar Magazine who stated the record showcases a, “fuller-bodied vibe melded with elements of R&B, funk, orchestral pop, and disco.”

Stand For Myself reflects on Yola’s belief in the possibility of paradigm shift beyond the mental programming that creates tokenism and bigotry, which have deeply impacted her personal life and professional career. Produced by Dan Auerbach, the album traces a musical thread to Yola’s most eclectic musical inspirations. From the seminal albums Yola discovered via her mother’s 70s record collection, to her love of eclectic British radio, which featured a fluid mix of rock, 90s neo soul, R&B and britpop—all which soundtracked her childhood and teenage years in Bristol, England. Some songs began in the twilight hours of Yola’s pandemic isolation, reflecting on her personal and our collective moments of longing and awakening. Other songs germinated years ago and were inspired by personal moments, including “Break The Bough,” which Yola started to write following her mother’s funeral. Tracks were also co-written with Dan Auerbach, Ruby Amanfu, John Bettis, Pat McLaughlin, Natalie Hemby, Joy Oladokun, Paul Overstreet, Liz Rose, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Hannah V and Bobby Wood. Recorded during the fall of 2020 with a rhythm section that includes bassist Nick Movshon, noted for his work with Amy Winehouse to Bruno Mars, alongside drummer and rising solo artist, Aaron Frazer. 

Yola recently performed on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. The in-studio performance was taped live at the Ed Sullivan Theatre and included Oscar winning Late Show music director and bandleader Jon Batiste on piano. Watch here. Yola became one of the few artists to perform at both Newport Folk and Newport Jazz Festivals in the same year. Yola performed at Newport Folk last week and will appear this evening at Newport Jazz. She will also perform at Summerfest and dates with Chris Stapleton on his rescheduled tour in 2021, including Madison Square Garden on October 8 and two nights at Bridgestone Arena on Oct 22-23. Yola will return to the UK in November 2021 for an exclusive stripped back performance at Rough Trade Bristol. For more information and tickets please visit: www.iamyola.com

Stand For Myself is out now via Easy Eye Sound on vinyl, CD, cassette, digital, and streaming. Exclusive purple smoke and neon pink special edition vinyl colors available from select retailers. For more info please visit: https://click.ees.link/standformyself

Tracklist:

1. Barely Alive  

2. Dancing Away In Tears 

3. Diamond Studded Shoes  

4. Be My Friend 

5. Great Divide  

6. Starlight  

7. If I Had To Do It All Again  

8. Now You’re Here  

9. Whatever You Want  

10. Break The Bough  

11. Like A Photograph

12. Stand For Myself 

photographer credit: Joseph Ross Smith

Last year, the pandemic derailed Yola’s plans to tour stadiums (with Chris Stapleton and The Black Keys) as well as numerous festival plays. In addition, her plans were sidelined to fly to Australia to film a role as Sister Rosetta Tharpe in the new Baz Luhrmann Elvis biopic. Yola used this unexpected gift of time and space to become grounded both physically and mentally, as she began to craft the songs that would eventually become Stand For Myself

Yola experienced prejudice throughout her childhood and career and navigated these experiences, as well as homelessness in London and stress-induced voice loss to launch her solo career in 2016. She achieved breakout success with her debut album, Walk Through Fire, which landed her four GRAMMY® nominations including Best New Artist, critical acclaim and fans from Elton John to Estelle. 

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