Cold Specks 'Fool's Paradise' LP Out Now

Out today via Arts & Crafts, Fool's Paradise is Ladan Hussein's most personal work yet, intimately exploring her identity as a Somali-Canadian woman. Known on stage as Cold Specks, the new album encapsulates the naturalness of existing during difficult times. Hussein recently learned about her family's former life in Somalia. During the writing process, she dug deep into grainy VHS recordings found online of Somali musicians, songs and videos that had survived war. The album has received acclaim from The New York Times, Indie Shuffle, Consequence of Sound, SPIN, Stereogum, W Magazine, FADER and many more. Today she reveals the new video for album single "Wild Card", directed by Mac Boucher (Grimes, Tei Shi, HANA), alongside a feature with FADER.

In 2015, Hussein followed her critically acclaimed debut LP, I Predict A Graceful Expulsion, with the release of Neuroplasticity, both of which were nominated for the Polaris Music Prize with the former also earning a JUNO Award nomination for Breakthrough Artist Of The Year. Between albums, when Cold Specks wasn't writing or touring, Hussein was pinballing between asks from an enviable roll call of collaborators. She was asked to work onMoby's album Innocents and was invited to play with Joni Mitchell at the singer's 70th birthday alongside the likes of Herbie Hancock. She contributed to Ambrose Akinmusire's 2014 record for Blue Note and Swans' 2014 album To Be Kind. These last two partnerships left a significant impression onNeuroplasticity resulting in the indomitable Swans founder Michael Gira and Akinmusire to both appear on the album. Most recently, she has worked withMassive Attack on the track "Dead Editors" featuring Roots Manuva from their 2016 Ritual Spirit EP.