Samora Pinderhughes Unveils New Single 'Holding Cell' From New Album 'Grief'

Composer, filmmaker and interdisciplinary artist Samora Pinderhughes unveils new single and video "Holding Cell," from the highly-anticipated album GRIEF slated for release on April 15. The single and accompanying video are an integral element of Pinderhughes' years-long multimedia effort on loss, structural violence and possibilities for healing and liberation, The Healing Project, which consists of three parts: a physical exhibition, a digital archive and finally an album.

"This song was written based on a true story," says Pinderhughes, who built his upcoming album GRIEF around interviews with the formerly and presently incarcerated. "It moves through the narrative of a person who just wants to live their life, but is held in detention or in jail or in prison. While there, they write letters to their family & friends outside. "Holding Cell" builds around the idea that the caging of human beings makes it completely impossible to be healthy and get well as a person. We say as a nation that prisons and jails are for 'rehabilitation' but in fact they are the most cruel punishment centers imaginable. We MUST fight for ABOLITION-fight for a world built around care and complexity rather than punishment and greed - a world without prisons, detention centers, and jails. A world without holding cells."

GRIEF is the most personal part of The Healing Project for Pinderhughes, who wrote all the songs and makes his official debut as a singer on the album. Written in the spirit of music from the '60's and '70s by artists like Nina Simone and Curtis Mayfield who made powerful statements about life and social justice through their music, GRIEF aims to evoke feeling through texture and harmony by underlining the human voice as a bonding agent.

The album features an ensemble-Marcus Gilmore (drums), Brad Allen Williams (guitar), Boom Bishop (electric bass), Clovis Nicolas (upright bass), Immanuel Wilkins (alto sax), Lucas Pino (tenor sax), Elena Pinderhughes (flute), Argus Quartet (strings), Nio Levon (vocals), Jehbreal Jackson (vocals) and Pinderhughes himself on piano, production and vocals-and a rhythm section with the rare combination of two bassists playing at the same time.

Additionally, The Healing Project's physical exhibition will show at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts from March 25 to June 19; additional details and tickets here.

Produced by Anna Deavere Smith, Glenn Ligon and Vijay Iyer the exhibition marks Pinderhughes' visual art debut and features music from GRIEF as well as a constellation of films, sound works, physical pieces and contributed artworks from established artists like Titus Kaphar and currently incarcerated artists including Pitt Panther.

The heart of the exhibition is the Sound Room, where the interviews that Pinderhughes conducted over several years across 15 states for The Healing Project are scored to additional original music. The exhibition will also include workshops and events, all free and open to the public, and free performances featuring Pinderhughes and special guests throughout the run.

The digital archive of the installation, which will debut in March, is an open-source, mobile-friendly site built on AR/VR technology where people can listen directly to the recordings of The Healing Project interviewees scored to music. Pinderhughes created the digital archive alongside collaborators including Rafiq Bhatia, Chris Pattishall, Jack DeBoe and Adam O'Farrill, which features a brand-new visual world created by CRUX that site visitors can digitally walk through.

The Healing Project documents experiences of incarceration, detention and structural violence around the United States, while highlighting strategies of community care that imagine and nourish another world. By highlighting the specific stories of people such as Keith LaMar, Pitt Panther, Cyril Walrond and others who have urgent cases in regards to their imprisonment, The Healing Project aims to shine light on these situations and ultimately help free them.

Pinderhughes'attempt to communicate an abolitionist vision, the project took place over 10 years and is based on years of deep conversations with more than 100 people across 15 states about their experiences, stories and ideas.

Samora Pinderhughes is a composer, pianist, vocalist, filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist known for examining sociopolitical issues and fighting for change through his art. Born and raised in the Bay Area, Pinderhughes began playing music at the age of two years and went on to study music at Juilliard, where he met his primary artistic mentor, MacArthur-winning playwright Anna Deavere Smith. Pinderhughes has collaborated and performed with a number of artists including Common, Robert Glasper, Karriem Riggins, Sara Bareilles and Herbie Hancock, and his compositional works have been commissioned by institutions including Carnegie Hall, the Sundance Film Festival and the Kennedy Center.

Listen to the new single here:

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