Their third studio album is in the works.
Critically acclaimed songwriter, producer, and multi-media artist Until The Ribbon Breaks (a.k.a. Pete Lawrie Winfield) delves deeper into his extraordinary new musical era with "Nature Mother," a rhythmic anthem for the ages that Winfield proudly calls his favorite composition to date. "Nature Mother" is out everywhere today, via VERO Music.
Featuring a ferocious, soulful guest vocal from Nashville-based Emoni Wilkins as well as an official music video directed by Winfield-himself, "Nature Mother" boldly addresses environmental concerns and the role that humanity plays in the future of our planet.
Speaking about the new track, Winfield reveals, "If there was a single lyric that encompassed the whole feeling that I have - and where I've been emotionally and why I even made this record - it's that chorus. It specifically talks about our role in nature and our role to each other: 'Wild is the wind. Rage is the sea. If it's in me, it's in me, it's our nature mother.'"
Further, Winfield sees "Nature Mother" as a meditation on the connection of the human spirit and the land around us. "For me, personally, instead of curing anxiety and depression, what if they are just a part of us just like they're a part of nature?"
"Nature Mother" is the latest step in the creative renaissance of Until The Ribbon Breaks, one that started in April with "Everything Else but Rain" with GRAMMY nominated duo Lucius- a track that has earned praise from tastemakers that include Apple Music's Zane Lowe and Rolling Stone magazine, That was followed in July with "Red Skies," a collaboration with Latin-pop chanteuse La Pardothat was recorded at the hallowed Joshua Tree studio Escape, as well as in Bogotá, Columbia. Last week, UTRB unveiled a remix of "Red Skies," titled "Cielos Rojos" (with La Pardo).
Winfield has further imbued dimension into his new songs with a series of multimedia illustrations of his musical visions that include cinematic video clips and an episodic live performance series titled 'Live From The Lemon Tree.' Watch a beautiful live performance of "Everything Else But Rain" (Live from The Lemon Tree) HERE.
"I am never happier or more engaged in life than when I am making things," Winfield says. "What is so gratifying about this current period of my life is that I feel much in the same way that I did when I was 15 and first making music. I'm doing it for the pure joy of doing it."
Following a self-enforced multi-year hiatus and 6 years of sobriety under his belt, the Welsh artist has also confirmed a new body of work is on the horizon, set for release via VERO Music (distributed by Venice Music). "During the decade that I was making music, I hadn't realized the toll it took on me, emotionally and physically. I started questioning why I put myself through so much, and why I medicated myself so that I could deal with it. The addiction and Until the Ribbon breaks had become inextricably linked. So, I decided to retire me in that iteration, and see what happens from there."
Winfield shares on his recovery and decision to step back. "But there was a problem. I love making things of all kinds, especially music. At that time, performing was not an option. I was a raw nerve, and I could not consider performing without the perceived safety net of substances. I thought producing and writing for other artists was the answer."
It was during lock down, faced with extended periods of isolation and in the studio, that he began making music for himself again. "The beauty was that it started as an authentic process. It was how I first made music when I was 12 years old. No one was asking me to make music. No one was expecting me to make music. It was literally the naivety of pressing a button on a keyboard or a drum machine, hearing a sound, and thinking "Wow. You can do that."
Until the Ribbon Breaks (also referred to as UTRB) refers to the custom of making mixtapes, played over and over "until the ribbon breaks." Winfield's first single, "Pressure," was released in 2013, accompanied by a homemade video that incorporated scenes from David Lynch's 1997 classic Lost Highway.
A second track, "2525," was released several months later, after which Winfield earned global critical acclaim from the likes of NPR, KCRW, Pitchfork, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, FADER, COMPLEX and many more, and was asked to remix for artists such as The Weekend [Wicked Games], Sam Smith [Nirvana], as well as Lorde [Royals] and London Grammar [Sights] who both invited UTRB to open for their respective North American tours.
More recently, he re-imagined tracks for FINNEAS [What They'll Say About Us] and Toots and the Maytals [Got To Be Tough], and produced the debut album from Thunder Jackson. Until The Ribbon Breaks also collaborated with hip hop duo Run The Jewels and appeared on their 2013 release "Job Well Done." The pair also featured on UTRB's 2014 release "Revolution Indifference."
Fast forward to 2023, and Until the Ribbon Breaks has reached a brilliant new watershed moment of creativity and emotional honesty. A new era and body of music will come and complete the musical trinity of his previous extraordinary collections A Lesson Unlearnt(2015) and Until the Ribbon Breaks (2018).
Winfield proudly describes this new chapter as a "full-circle moment of sorts. It's me making music with the same excitement that I felt as a kid. There were no expectations of a result. Just a desire to make something meaningful."
"Nature Mother" with Emoni Wilkins is out everywhere now. Watch the official music video here:
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