THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Widely regarded as one of the foremost songwriters of her generation or any other, Suzanne Vega is back with her first album of new music in over a decade. Flying With Angels was produced by Vega’s longtime collaborator and guitarist Gerry Leonard (David Bowie, Rufus Wainwright, Laurie Anderson, Duncan Sheik). “Each song on the album takes place in an atmosphere of struggle,” notes Vega. “Struggle to survive, to speak, to dominate, to win, to escape, to help someone else, or just live.”
The album’s single Speakers’ Corner acknowledges the increasingly political nature of communication today, when the ability to speak one’s mind is easier than ever on social media, and yet that privilege is often misused. Vega elaborates, “That’s something you don’t want in democracy: The shutting down of the Speakers’ Corner, where people get a say. This is a moment in time when people are saying a lot, but sometimes they’re not making sense or not telling the truth. People should be accountable for what they say. They can’t just lie. One would think that that would be self-evident.” The single is accompanied by an animated lyric video by animator Michael Arthur.
Vega emerged as a leading figure of the folk-music revival of the early 1980s. Since the release of her self-titled, critically acclaimed 1985 debut album, she has written and recorded numerous songs that have become part of the contemporary music vernacular, including Luka, Marlene On The Wall and Tom’s Diner, an a cappella piece that was remixed by U.K. electronic dance duo DNA and became a major club hit. It remains an oft-sampled and covered standard by artists across the musical spectrum. Her albums, including her self-titled debut, the followup Solitude Standing and 99.9F, have sold millions of copies worldwide.”
