Warpaint share “Paralysed”, the third single taken from “The Problem of Leisure: A Celebration of Andy Gill and Gang of Four”
The third single to be taken from the album The Problem of Leisure: A Celebration of Andy Gill and Gang of Four, is a new interpretation of “Paralysed” by all-female band, Warpaint.
The Problem of Leisure is set for release on May 28th, 2021. It’s a double album of tracks written by Andy Gill and Gang of Four, all newly reinterpreted and recorded by artists whose own unique contributions to music were enriched by listening to Gang of Four. The album features songs from across Gang of Four’s 40-plus year career, each individually chosen by the artists’ who covered them.
Speaking about their involvement in The Problem of Leisure, Warpaint’s Jenny Lee, who produced this new version of “Paralysed”, explains:
““The change will do me good.” (Damaged Goods). Best piece of advice that pretty much changed my life. Not to mention Dave Allen’s bass playing. Also changed me forever. Made me wanna play bass.
“It was cool to get inside of 'Paralysed,' and for Gang Of Four to give us freedom to freak out in our way...it was a beautiful opportunity and we're SOOO excited, it's an honour actually, to be a
part of Andy’s tribute.”
“Andy loved the way Warpaint created not only songs but atmospheres, without sacrificing drive and danceability. The marriage of their unique sound with Paralysed, on the face of it one of the least likely dance tracks ever, is spectacular,”
says Andy Gill’s widow, Catherine Mayer.
“The lyrics are also incredibly resonant at this moment in time where so many people feel helpless in the face of regressive populism and disfiguring inequalities.”
Catherine will be donating any income she receives from the single to the [UK] Women’s Equality Party, a party she co-founded and that Andy passionately supported.
After Andy’s death in February 2020, Catherine assembled a small team to complete The Problem of Leisure. The record had originally been conceived by Andy himself not as a post-mortem tribute, but to mark the 40th anniversary in 2019 of Gang Of Four’s extraordinary 1979 debut long player Entertainment! an album widely heralded as a classic (“the fifth best punk album of all time”: Rolling Stone magazine). Andy had already revised that vision in the months before his death, after some artists chose tracks from different albums and periods.
Every musician who committed to the project was given the freedom to create new versions of whichever Gang of Four songs they wanted to cover, with Andy overseeing some of the earlier productions but largely leaving artists to create their own interpretations.
The album will be released on the Gill Music label on May 28th and is distributed by Ingrooves. When Andy died, obituarists struggled to sum up his profound impact on music. He had co-founded Gang of Four and remained at the time of his death its only original member. As co-writer or writer of all the band's songs and through his unmistakable and much emulated guitar style, Andy influenced generation after generation of musicians, and that effect was amplified by his work as a composer and producer. This album speaks to that impact and influence.
The final 20 track double album features an extraordinary roll call of global talent, with artists from seven different countries and four continents, and demonstrates the breadth and scale of Andy and Gang of Four’s influence.
The album’s brilliant artwork was created by Damien Hirst, a long-term Gang of Four aficionado. Andy chose the cover art from a selection of options provided by the artist.
The album is available to pre-order now in a variety of double vinyl and two CD formats from all usual retail outlets worldwide. The deluxe vinyl format, “Dogluxe” is only available from the Gang of Four website, gangoffour.uk/store. All formats feature different versions of the artwork from Damien Hirst.
“The Problem of Leisure: A Celebration of Andy Gill and Gang of Four”
Pre-order here