Kamasi Washington's 'Harmony of Difference' Out On Young Turks Today

Music titan Kamasi Washington's new EP Harmony of Difference, the first new music from Washington since his universally acclaimed 2015 debut album The Epic, is out September 29 via Young Turks. Furthermore, Washington has confirmed a very special run of North American headline shows this fall in partnership with AEG Presents. The dates kick off November 7 in Milwaukee, with further shows in Chicago, New York, D.C., Philadelphia, Atlanta and many more.

Please see below for full tour details; presales begin August 1 at 10 a.m. local time. American Express® Card Members can purchase tickets before the general public beginning Wednesday, August 2 at 10 a.m. local time through Thursday, August 3 at 10 p.m. local time. Tickets go on sale to the public August 4 at 10 a.m. local time unless otherwise noted.

Harmony of Difference premiered as part of the Whitney Museum of American Art 2017 Biennial alongside a film by Rojas and also featuring artwork by Kamasi Washington's sister, Amani Washington. The new music is an original six part suite that explores the philosophical possibilities of the musical technique known as "counterpoint," which Washington defines as "the art of balancing similarity and difference to create harmony between separate melodies." Beyond the artistic impulse to expand the possibilities within counterpoint, Washington wanted to create something that opened people's minds to the gift of diversity.

Each of the first five movements is its own unique composition. "Truth," the sixth movement, fuses all five compositions into one simultaneous performance. Echoing this fusion, Amani created five paintings focused on raw shapes and colors, each inspired by one of the first five movements of the suite. Amani then combined these paintings to create a sixth: an abstract depiction of a human face.

The film, directed by A.G. Rojas, brings the metaphoric ideas found in both the music and paintings to life. While still quite abstract, it focuses on the harmony found in people from South Central and East Los Angeles and shows the beauty in their differences.

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