Banks & Steelz -a musical collaboration between Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA and Interpol’s Paul Banks – have released the title track from their forthcoming album, “Anything But Words.”
Produced by Banks & Steelz and Ari Levine, the new song finds Paul Banks wailing alongside his guitar, “I believe that someone can be brave on this green Earth/ But maybe I’m wrong/ Aim for the sun/ Out in the freezing rain I will stay on the streets all day/ Until my cup runneth over”. On the inspiration behind the lyrics to the verses, RZA revealed to Pitchfork:
The foundation of the lyrics was inspired by the energy of Malibu, and combined with the idea of myself, and the idea of man himself. I was inspired to write the second verse as if a man is reflecting upon his life…
But I think the line that really resonated is when I said that we give man the wisdom to be a carpenter, a gardener, a mother, a daughter, a father, a priest, king, or warrior. The point being made is that beyond the gender of it, man is a mother, man is a father, man is a warrior, man is a scholar…The ability of a person to choose any path he wants to labor is in him.
Anything But Words will be released on August 26th and features other appearances by Florence Welch of Florence + The Machine, Kool Keith, and Wu-Tang Clan’s Ghostface Killah, Method Man, and Masta Killa. They will kick off release week with a series of tour and festival dates through October. Tracklisting and dates below.
The two began working on music together in 2013 where the idea to collaborate with the Interpol front-man sparked after RZA’s manager asked him who he wanted to do an album with. “When I met Paul, I recognized the New York energy he has as a music artist,” RZA told Rolling Stone. “We got to know each other playing chess and vibing out in the studio. Our talents connected in a unique way and we started writing songs. The outcome was something distinctively different from my previous work, yet with another layer of cool.”
Anything But Words tracklisting:
- Giant
- Ana Electronic
- Sword In The Stone (Feat. Kool Keith)
- Speedway Sonora
- Wild Season (Feat. Florence Welch)
- Anything but Words
- Conceal
- Love and War (Feat. Ghostface Killah)
- Can’t Hardly Feel
- One by One
- Gonna Make It
- Point of View (Feat. Method Man and Masta Killa)
Tour dates:
Wed 8/24 Seattle, WA The Crocodile
Thu 8/25 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge
Sat 8/27 San Francisco, CA The Independent
Sun 8/28 Los Angeles, CA FYF Festival
Wed 8/31 Washington DC 9:30 Club
Thu 9/1 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
Sat 9/3 Cambridge, MA The Sinclair
Sun 9/4 Philadelphia, PA Made In America Festival
Tue 9/6 Toronto, Ontario The Mod Club Theatre
Thu 9/8 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall
Fri 9/23 Las Vegas, NV Life Is Beautiful Festival
Tue 9/27 Boulder, CO Fox Theatre
Fri 9/30 Austin, TX Austin City Limits
Fri 10/7 Austin, TX Austin City Limits
Sun 10/9 Phoenix, AZ The Crescent Ballroom
“Anything But Words” is available for streaming/purchase at http://smarturl.it/abw.track.
For tickets and to stay connected with Banks & Steelz, visit http://www.banksandsteelz.com.
Photo Credit: Atiba Jefferson
