Merrill Garbus, more commonly known as tUnE-yArDs, discussed the the follow-up to her acclaimed 2011 album, w h o k i l l, after studying music and dance in Haiti.

Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat

Garbus discussed her new album with the talkhouse after traveling to Haiti to immerse herself in a non-western musical tradition, studying drumming with Haitian born musician Daniel Brevin. She also studied folkloric and contemporary dance at the Ecole Nationale des Arts. The album’s title, Sink-o, comes from Garbus’ “obsession with the word syncopation”, a musical term used to describe rhythms which are not based on the regular strong and weak beat concept.

She has described the new album as sounding like a “wild mess of chaos” and “an out of control beast”. As of now, the album has no release date with Garbus not even sure the title will stick, “who knows if [sink-o] will remain”.