Laurie Anderson – India And On Down to Australia feat. ANOHNI

Laurie Anderson’s back with some new music, and it’s pretty exciting stuff. She’s got a new album titled “Amelia” coming out on August 30th, and she just dropped a track called “India And On Down to Australia” with ANOHNI on it.

The whole album’s about Amelia Earhart’s last flight. If you’re not up on your aviation history, Earhart was this badass pilot who disappeared while trying to fly around the world. Anderson’s taken that story and turned it into 22 tracks of music.

This new song’s got a bit of everything. There’s Anderson’s signature vocoder-style vocals, ANOHNI doing her thing, and a whole orchestra from the Czech Republic called Filharmonie Brno. Anderson’s also brought in multiple other musicians like Marc Ribot, Kenny Wollesen, and Rob Moose to round out the sound.

Anderson says the rhythm for this track came from an old unreleased song of hers called “Rumba Club.” She recorded it during the pandemic, which meant the orchestra did their part separately, and then she added the electronics and vocals later. To bridge the gap between her electronic viola and the orchestra, she brought in a small string trio and some percussion.

It’s been a while since we’ve heard new stuff from Anderson – her last album was “Landfall” back in 2018, which won a Grammy. Speaking of Grammys, she’s also getting a Lifetime Achievement Award this year, which is pretty well-deserved if you ask me.