Pink Martini Shares New Single 'The Lemonade Song'

Portland favorites Pink Martini have shared their second new single of the summer. "The Lemonade Song" is released today via their own label Heinz Records. As with the earlier "Let's Be Friends", the track was co-written by bandleader Thomas Lauderdale and singer China Forbes, the pair responsible for the band's biggest hits.

Lauderdale and Forbes once again teamed with writer/producer Jim Bianco for the tune which, with its timeless and sophisticated sound, is about how life's sour notes can make the sweet notes even sweeter. Together "The Lemonade Song" and "Let's Be Friends" marks a return from the band since 2018's EP, Bésame Mucho and Tomorrow.

Throughout their history, on record and live in concert, Pink Martini has featured a dozen musicians with songs in 25 languages, and they perform their multilingual repertoire on concert stages and with symphony orchestras throughout the world. Pink Martini's albums have collectively sold over 3 million copies worldwide, all on the band's own label, Heinz Records. The New York Times has called singer China Forbes "an unpretentious, pitch-perfect chanteuse" and Variety has noted, "(Pink Martini are) impressive at every musician's station, this ensemble produces music that's charming and elegant ..." The Washington Post says, "this is rich, hugely approachable music, utterly cosmopolitan yet utterly unpretentious. And it seems to speak to just about everybody."

In 1994 Lauderdale had finished college and returned to his hometown of Portland, OR. He was working at City Hall with an eye towards running for office. Being a classically trained pianist, music was always in the background, and he formed his "little orchestra" Pink Martini as a means to provide music for political fundraisers for progressive causes near to his heart - including civil rights, affordable housing, the environment, and public broadcasting. China Forbes, Lauderdale's friend from their college days at Harvard, joined the group the following year, and the first song they wrote together, "Sympathique" (Je ne veus pas travailler), became an overnight sensation in France, where it remains a mantra ("Je ne veux pas travailler" translates to "I don't want to work") for striking French workers. Politics continues to be a focal point for the band, as both Lauderdale and Pink Martini lend their voice to progressive causes.

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