Lydia Ainsworth Shares New Single 'Cosmic Dust'

"Cosmic Dust," the new single from singer, songwriter and producer Lydia Ainsworth's forthcoming album Sparkles & Debris, is out today; listen/share HERE. The album, which follows 2019's acclaimed Phantom Forest and blends live drums, guitars and bass with Ainsworth's signature vast electronic landscapes, is due May 21 via Zombie Cat Records; pre-save HERE.

"We are simply dirt, water and air animated by the sun for a particle moment; we will all soon be gone," says Ainsworth. "What is the legacy we leave behind if we keep hurting and devaluing other people's existences? This song is about my hope for meaning beyond what feels like a nihilistic world order, one that turns a blind eye to injustice and abuse to each other and the planet." "Cosmic Dust" follows debut single "Parade" (listen/watch HERE), praised in Stereogum as a "blissfully dreamy pop reverie," the title track "Sparkles & Debris" (listen HERE) and most recently "Cake" with its video directed by Takeshi Suga and shot in Tokyo before the start of the pandemic (listen/watch HERE).

Written and produced by Ainsworth in Toronto, New York and Los Angeles over many years, Sparkles & Debris reflects her usual composer's mindset and instinct for idiosyncratic melodies and structures. The album also marks a departure from the more solitary creative process that her previous releases were born from. Ainsworth recorded all her vocals at her engineer/mixer Dajaun Martineau's studio in Toronto. Mark Kelso provided live drums and Neil Chapman and John Findlay added electric guitar and bass in the city's Desert Fish and Noble St. studios. These live elements blend with Ainsworth's own samples, programming and voice to create the record's sonic tapestry.

Lydia Ainsworth is an internationally acclaimed singer, composer and producer whose 2015 debut album Right from Real was nominated for a Juno Award for best electronic album and shortlisted for the Polaris Prize. In 2017 her second LP, Darling of the Afterglow, brought with it headlining tours of North America, Europe and Japan as well as support tours with Perfume Genius. In 2019 she released Phantom Forest, and that same year, "Earth Song," her collaboration with Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, appeared in the last episode of Season 3 of Stranger Things. Her original scores for film and commercials have screened at festivals such as Sundance, Cannes and Hot Docs.

Listen here: