Today, prolific singer/songwriter Ani DiFranco releases Unprecedented Sh!t, produced by BJ Burton (Bon Iver, Low), on her label, Righteous Babe Records. The newest album track “Spinning Room” tackles environmental destruction, intertwining the perspectives of nature and the individual seamlessly, blurring the lines between the two. The song highlights our tendency to individualize a dis-ease which is essentially global and environmental in nature. Listen to “Spinning Room” and Unprecedented Sh!t via DSPs HERE.
The title Unprecedented Sh!t is not only representative of how much of a sonic departure the 11-track album is from Ani’s other work, but also a political and social commentary on the current state of the world. DiFranco shares, “We find ourselves in unprecedented times in many ways, faced with unprecedented challenges. So our responses to them and our discourse around them, need to rise to that level.” With Burton, DiFranco experiments with different sonic elements, leading to a sound that feels both authentic and polished.
A new documentary on DiFranco’s rise entitled 1-800-ON-HER-OWN will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 10, with an intimate live performance by DiFranco. The film is a vulnerable look at her life today, as she struggles to balance artistry with the demands of family. Other festival appearances include: Provincetown Film Festival on June 15, DC/DOX on June 16, Montclair Summer Film Showcase on June 28 and more.
DiFranco is currently starring as ‘Persephone’ in the Tony and Grammy Award-winning Best Musical, Hadestown. DiFranco’s history with Hadestown began in 2010 when she invited Anais Mitchell to release the original studio album of Hadestown on Righteous Babe Records. DiFranco originated the role of ‘Persephone’ on the album, leaving an enduring impression on the character as the show evolved over the course of several years.
DiFranco is also a published author. Her memoir No Walls and the Recurring Dream was a New York Times Top 10 best seller in 2019, and her debut children’s book The Knowing is out now. Her next children’s book Show Up and Vote is due in August of 2024.
Widely considered a feminist icon, Grammy winner Ani DiFranco is the mother of the DIY movement, being one of the first artists to create her own record label, Righteous Babe Records, in 1990. She has released 23 albums, traversing folk, punk, hip-hop, soul and electronic genres and addressing a range of autobiographical, political and social issues. Unprecedented Sh!t follows the June 2023 25th Anniversary Edition reissue of her seminal effort Little Plastic Castle.