Prologue To A Blade >>> New EP, Poetry Book, and Tour from Alabaster DePlume
((( photo by Sofia Lambrou )))
Alabaster DePlume announces
Prologue To A Blade
New EP, Poetry Book, Tour
Today Alabaster DePlume – saxophonist, songwriter, poet, orator, activist, highly inspirational human who is doing very well indeed – shares Prologue To A Blade, a series of creative statements setting the stage for a larger project arriving next year.
The Prologue includes a beautiful new digital EP – featuring two tracks recorded in Palestine with local musicians, pianist Sami El Enani and Qanoun player Laith Albandak, and a third track inspired by the experience of living in solidarity with the people of Palestine – which is out now on all digital music platforms, and is accompanied by news of his debut poetry book and an upcoming tour of the US and Europe.
This body of work lays the foundation for his evolving artistic journey, as he explores the role of dignity in healing and its impact on community, society, and humanity.
((( EP cover art by photographer Mikaela Burstow )))
The EP, titled Cremisan: Prologue To A Blade, features three deeply personal and evocative new tracks recorded in locations of profound importance. Each piece serves as a testament to the power of collaboration and the importance of place in shaping artistic process.
The EP’s first two tracks, “Honeycomb” and “Cremisan,” were recorded in the experimental arts, music and architecture space The Wonder Cabinet in Bethlehem, Palestine, during DePlume’s ‘Sounds Of Places’ residency.
The opening track, the wintry and elegiac “Honeycomb,” is a somber duet recorded with pianist Sami El Enani.
“Cremisan” — recorded in the final moments of a day-long non-stop performance put on by Radio alHara and Wonder Cabinet on June 1, 2024, that featured a robust array of local artists and musicians — finds DePlume’s wavering saxophone leads playing against featured artist Laith Albandak’s steadfast Qanoun in a call and response that gestures at both grief and resilience. The team planned and delivered this event as “a cry from the Cremisan Valley (Bethlehem, Palestine) to Rafah (Gaza),” and what you hear is its conclusion.
The EP concludes with “Gifts Of Olive,” a solemn melody that references Refaat Alareer’s poem “If I Must Die.”
DePlume shares: “To set you up for what’s coming I’ve layered up these compositions in private, and with friends. It’s a prologue to what we’re bringing next. It ushers it in. I went towards things I feared, to be in the places where this music has come from. Places in the world and in myself, where dignity and sovereignty has its role in the work of healing.”
Looking For My Value: Prologue To A Blade
Available for preorder now, DePlume’s first poetry collection – Looking For My Value: Prologue To A Blade – offers readers a deeper exploration of the themes of dignity, sovereignty, and the work of healing that are present in his music.
Arriving as a limited gatefold custom A6 pocket book featuring cover art by British illustrator Ian Wright and design by London-based Jamie Coull, this collection features raw and vulnerable prose that reflect DePlume’s journey toward finding and taking responsibility for his own value as a human being.
2025 Tour
The meaning of this work will be further explored during Alabaster’s upcoming 2025 tour, A Blade Because..., with headline shows across the US, UK, and EU. Tickets for the tour go on sale this Friday, for more info please visit alabaster-deplume.com/tour
14-Mar-2025 - Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
15-Mar-2025 - Kingston, NY @ Tubby’s
16-Mar-2025 - New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge
18-Mar-2025 - Washington, DC @ Black Cat
19-Mar-2025 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
21-Mar-2025 - Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern
22-Mar-2025 - Portland, OR @ Polaris Hall
23-Mar-2025 - San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
25-Mar-2025 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent
27-Mar-2025 - Knoxville, TN @ Big Ears Festival
29-Apr-2025 - Norwich, UK @ Norwich Arts Centre
30-Apr-2025 - Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
1-May-2025 - Newcastle, UK @ Gosforth Civic Hall
2-May-2025 - Glasgow, UK @ Mono
3-May-2025 - Manchester, UK @ Gorilla
6-May-2025 - Bristol, UK @ Trinity Centre
7-May-2025 - Exeter, UK @ Phoenix
8-May-2025 - Southampton, UK @ Papillon
9-May-2025 - London, UK @ Hackney Church
10-May-2025 - Brighton, UK @ Concorde2
17-May-2025 - Berlin, DE @ TBC
21-May-2025 - Paris, FR @ Le Petit Bain
22-May-2025 - Lille, FR @ L'Aéronef
23-May-2025 - Brussels, BE @ TBC
24-May-2025 - Amsterdam, NL @ Zonnehuis
25-May-2025 - Nijmegen, NL @ Doornroosje
26-May-2025 - Rotterdam, NL @ Bird
((( photo by Sofia Lambrou )))
...about Alabaster DePlume...
Gus Fairbairn, aka Alabaster DePlume, has a pocketful of phrases that he uses all the time whether he’s walking down the street or holding court with musicians and an audience. For a long time the Mancunian would tell anyone who’d listen that they were doing very well. More recently, it’s another phrase which has a similar effect and which belies his unwavering commitment to personal vulnerability and collective politics: “Don’t forget you’re precious.”
A process that is people-first not product-first ensures that his music is unique; often gem-like. Alabaster DePlume’s songs are built on sonorous circular melodies and luminous tones that transmit calmness and generosity in warm waves–unless they’re raging against complacency and the everyday inhumanity of end times capitalism. Most importantly, he brings a valuable transparency to his work. “This is what I’m really doing,” he says. “I want to talk about why I’m doing this, and how I’m doing this."
