Lydia Ainsworth Shares New Single 'Cake'

"Cake," the new single from singer, songwriter and producer Lydia Ainsworth's forthcoming album Sparkles & Debris, is out today with an accompanying video directed by Takeshi Suga and shot in Tokyo before the start of the pandemic; listen/watch.

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.

"I was exclusively listening to Townes Van Zandt while on tour for my last album," says Ainsworth. "I began to imagine what it would feel like to be in the shoes of the various women he's often singing about. In particular his song 'Loretta' which is one of my favorite songs of all time. I kept thinking about Loretta, feeling a kinship with her as well. I was inspired by his piercing lyric, 'She don't cry when I can't stay, 'least not till she's all alone.' 'Cake' is a song I wrote from Loretta's perspective." Today's release follows the title track and debut single "Parade."

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: