Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog Announces New Album & Releases First Song

Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog – the visionary post-fusion rock trio comprising guitarist/songwriter/activist Marc Ribot, bassist Shahzad Ismaily, and drummer/percussionist Ches Smith – have announced the release of their fifth album. Connection arrives via Knockwurst Records on Friday, July 14. Pre-orders are available now.

Declared by Ribot to be “the best record we’ve ever done,” Connection sees Ceramic Dog furthering their long flirtation with various strains of rock ‘n’ roll while remaining fully entrenched in their signature approach to improvised music, augmented by contributions by such special guests as singer-songwriter Syd Straw, keyboardist Anthony Coleman, saxophonist James Brandon Lewis, organist Greg Lewis, clarinetist Oscar Noriega, and cellist Peter Sachon.

The album is heralded by today’s premiere of the ferocious title track, “Connection,” a loose, lo-fi instrumental deeply informed by the scuzz-fueled history of Lower East Side noise rock from the Velvet Underground to White Hassle.

“This song’s (and the album’s) title began with a sculpture by our friend (and Ceramic Dog bassist Shahzad Ismaily’s daughter) Anika (age 6),” says Ribot. “A kind of house made by sticking toothpicks into Halloween candies. It’s an odd-shaped house, kind of like the frame of a geodesic dome…if it wasn’t a dome.

The little structure is home to a drawing of a smiling gingerbread man. Very homey. But, as we all know, it was the gingerbread man’s problematic home that caused him to ‘run as fast as he can.’ And what struck us about this home, apart from its odd beauty, was the fragility of its toothpick design, in which Anika perfectly captured the fragility of our contemporary attempts at human connection, the shadow hanging over our post-everything ‘homes.’ Everything else, the words, and the beat — which, music nerds take note, lays a 4/4 drum beat on top of a 3/4 melody — came later. Thanks, Anika.”

Ceramic Dog – who recently performed a custom composition to soundtrack the Gucci Men’s Fall/Winter 2023 Fashion Show in Milan, Italy (streaming HERE) – will celebrate Connection with a wide-ranging international live schedule, the trio’s first full tour in more than half a decade.

The upcoming itinerary includes North American and EU headline shows as well as an eagerly awaited US run alongside The Bad Plus, getting underway June 9 at Chicago, IL’s Thalia Hall. The co-headline tour is highlighted by a one-night-only triple-bill featuring special guest Alan Sparhawk (of Low), set for Minneapolis, MN’s famed First Avenue on June 10. For complete details and ticket availability, please visit www.marcribot.com/tour-dates.

CERAMIC DOG - TOUR 2023

JUNE

7 – Toronto, ON – The Great Hall *

8 – Detroit, MI – Marble Bar

9 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall †

10 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue † ^

11 – Madison, WI – Madison Jazz Festival @ High Noon Saloon †

13 – Indianapolis, IN – Toby Theater †

14 – Nashville, TN – 3rd & Lindsley †

15 – Atlanta, GA – Center Stage †

16 – Asheville, NC – Grey Eagle †

17 – Winston-Salem, NC – The Ramkat †

18 – Brooklyn, NY – Union Pool Summer Thunder (Free Show)

30 – Gexto, Spain – Gexto Jazz

JULY

1 – Rotterdam, Netherlands – Lantaren Venster

4 – Copenhagen, Denmark - Musik Loppen

6 – Braga, Portugal – TBA

7 – Lisbon, Portugal - TBA

8 – Warsaw, Poland – Pardon, To Tu

10 – München, Germany – Muffatwerk

11 – Forli, Italy – Lupo 340

12 – Rome, Italy - Casa del Jazz

* w/ Andy Moor (of The Ex), Adversarial Networks

† w/ The Bad Plus

^ w/Special Guest Alan Sparhawk (of Low)

Photo Credit: Ebru Yildiz

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