Yasmin Williams Announces New Album ‘Acadia’ & Shares Atmospheric ‘Virga’ Single

Yasmin Williams detailed her new album, Arcadia, due out on October 4, her first LP on Nonesuch Records. The composer and multi-instrumentalist previewed the record with lead single, “Virga.”

Williams produced Arcadia’s nine tracks and plays various guitars, banjo, calabash drum, tap shoes and kora on the record. She welcomed singer-songwriter Aoife O’Donovan to add vocals to the album along with contributions from guitarist William Tyler, saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, Dom Flemons on rhythm bones and others.

Yasmin shared more details on Acadia:

“Acadia has several meanings: a place of rural peace and pastoral poetry (Italian), a refuge or idyllic place, (Greek and Italian), fertile land (Mi’kmaq), a place of plenty (French) … all of this relates to the ethos of this album. The songs are seeds I planted, and the seeds grew into the album, Acadia: a place of peace, a place where creativity can blossom, a place where everyone can fit in together and collaborate effectively, a place where the fruits of my own labor in music can fully flourish without judgment or prejudice. One of my visions for this record was to expand the potential for current folk music to encourage collaboration across various genres. Blurring those somewhat arbitrary lines has been a natural tendency for me since I started writing music at twelve years old and Acadia is a full circle moment.”

Preview track “Virga” features the group Darlingside on vocals and multi-instrumentalist Rich Ruth on synthesizer. Williams also offered insights into “Virga.”

“A virga is a meteorological phenomenon where streaks of rain hang from a cloud and evaporate before reaching the ground,” she explained. “I related this sentiment to how it feels for me to be an artist in an industry that doesn’t seem to always value art and reflection. I eventually realized that I needed to learn how to thrive ‘in virga,’ so to speak … to learn to be okay with feeling slightly suspended in time, with my hopes and dreams dangling in an environment I have no control over, never fully having my feet planted on the ground.”

Listen to “Virga” below:

Catch Yasmin Williams on tour. Scroll down for her itinerary and ticket info.