Beverly Glenn-Copeland has announced a new album, the first LP from the 79-year-old musician in two decades. His next record is titled The Ones Ahead, and it’s out July 28 via Transgressive. Glenn-Copeland shared album opener “Africa Calling” with the news. Listen to “Africa Calling” and see the full track list below.

Glenn-Copeland last released an album with 2004’s Primal Prayer, which he issued under the name Phynix. He shared a statement about the inspiration for “Africa Calling”:

In the ‘80s I had the honor of performing with an incredible artist named Dido, a master of the drums indigenous to West Africa. The beauty of this drumming tradition is explored in ‘Africa Calling’. Over the years, in many conversations, I have come to understand that I share an undefinable, unnamed feeling — a calling — with many other members of the African diaspora, a bone-deep need to explore and express our heritage. Alongside the grief, there is a longing to know our roots, hidden from us as family lines were torn apart in the terrible days of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. In a world still caught in the ties of colonialism, I know I am not alone in needing to heed the call of this generations-old longing.

Glenn-Copeland shared some new material in 2020 with the release of Transmissions: The Music of Beverly Glenn-Copeland. The following year, he marked the 35th anniversary of his celebrated LP Keyboard Fantasies with a reissue and a documentary, and released a remix album that included contributions from Kelsey Lu, Arca, Dev Hynes, and more. Romy more recently sampled Glenn-Copeland’s “La Vita” on her recent single “Enjoy Your Life.”

Revisit Pitchfork’s Sunday Review of Keyboard Fantasies.

The Ones Ahead:

01 Africa Calling
02 Harbour (Song For Elizabeth)
03 Love Takes All
04 People Of The Loon
05 Stand Anthem
06 The Ones Ahead
07 Prince Caspian’s Dream
08 Lakeland Angel
09 No Other

The Music That Made Beverly Glenn-Copeland