Wallis Bird announces new album and releases single 'As The River Flows'

With a rousing chorus and a sense of urgency running throughout, ‘As The River Flows,’ is as powerfully musically as it is emotionally.

The lead single is devoted to Alan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian refugee whose drowned body was photographed in 2015 on a Turkish beach. “It’s dedicated to the incredible souls who faced death crossing the Mediterranean Sea and to the poor little boy, Alan Kurdi who’s drowning broke my heart. This is ultimately a song for hope.” said Bird.

Written to dispute ideas of the ‘right kind’ of immigrant, the song directly addresses contemporary, complex issues of immigration, especially in its confrontational statement, “If you can move/ Then I will too”, and its explicit challenge, “Aren’t you brave enough/ To pave a basic decency for humankind?”

Wallis Bird has also shared details about her new album, Woman, which is out on September 27. The album is being called "a daring synthesis of Bird’s singer songwriter roots and passion for, among other genres, soul music."

Written and almost exclusively performed by Bird, with regular associate Marcus Wüst as co-producer, Woman is Bird’s transparent attempt to speak out against injustice and counteract apathy through bold, blunt confessionals.

“Like most artists, I’ve probably shirked my responsibilities at times so as not to rock any boats,” Bird confesses. “But I decided it was time to change that.” Her goal now is to animate and agitate.

Wallis Bird has released five albums since 2007, performing some 800 shows this past decade. Wallis Bird has one two Meteor Music Awards and has received two further nominations for the Choice Music Prize.

Watch the video for 'As The River Flows' here: