Benjamin Booker - "LWA IN THE TRAILER PARK"

Photo by Trenity Thomas

I was a huge fan of Benjamin Booker's 2013 self-titled album and his 2017 album Witness. The dirty, fuzzy, raw blues of his first album fit nicely with the more polished sound of his second. Now, Booker is finally back with new music after a seven year absence, and he's completely reinvented his sound. His upcoming album was co-produced by underground hip hop producer Kenny Segal, and the first single isn't quite hip hop but isn't exactly not hip hop. "LWA IN THE TRAILER PARK" is a noisy version of hip hop meets indie rock and possibly some industrial. Booker is crooning throughout the song in a fashion more like Prince than his previous work. The song is layered heavily in fuzz with a beat that almost hits too hard at times. The whole thing is impossibly trippy and dreamlike, while being fairly jarring at times. "LWA IN THE TRAILER PARK" isn't anything like what I expected when I saw new music from Benjamin Booker in our inbox, but this is a very pleasant surprise!

Benjamin Booker says of his new sound:

“I wanted to get to this sound, but I didn’t know how. At some point I decided I’m going to find it or die trying. Kenny was the missing piece I needed--he fills in all of my gaps. I don’t know what I’ll do next, but if I can imagine it, I can do it now.”

You can watch the video for "LWA IN THE TRAILER PARK" below. LOWER is due out January 24 on Fire Next Time Records/Thirty Tigers. For more on Benjamin Booker, check out the artist on Instagram and Facebook. Upcoming tour dates are below the video.

2/2 - San Diego, CA - Soda Bar *

2/4 - Santa Ana, CA - Constellation Room *

2/5 - Los Angeles, CA - Lodge Room*

2/6 - San Francisco, CA - The Chapel *

2/8 - Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios *

2/9 - Seattle, WA - Madame Lou's *

2/10 - Boise, ID - Neurolux *

2/11 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge *

2/13 - Denver, CO - Marquis Theatre *

2/15 - Omaha, NE - Reverb Lounge *

2/16 - Minneapolis, MN - Turf Club *

2/18 - Chicago, IL - Subterranean *

2/19 - Detroit, MI - Magic Bag *

2/21 - Toronto, ON - Longboat Hall *

2/22 - Montreal, QC - L'Esco *

2/23 - Boston, MA - Crystal Ballroom *

2/25 - Brooklyn, NY - Public Records *

2/26 - Brooklyn, NY - Public Records *

2/27 - Philly, PA - Kung Fu Necktie *

2/28 - Washington, DC - Union Stage *

3/2 - Asheville, NC - Eulogy *

3/3 - Atlanta, GA - Aisle 5 *

3/5 - Nashville, TN - 3rd and Lindsley *

3/7 - New Orleans, LA - Siberia *

* with Kenny Segal