Celebrated poet, playwright and musician Kae Tempest has just dropped “Know Yourself,” a powerful new single released today as a preview of their upcoming fifth studio album, Self Titled, arriving July 4th via Island Records.
The track is a journey, with Tempest describing it as a “dialogue between selves across time, in real time.” The song, which samples an older lyric penned by Tempest years ago, creates a bridge between past and present identities.
“I love this song. It samples a lyric I wrote years ago, where my younger self is talking to their younger self,” Tempest said. “When I was young I sought help from my older self. I came into my head, I told me ‘know yourself.’”
Accompanied by a music video filmed in London’s oldest barber shop, “Know Yourself” introduces a central theme of the forthcoming album: self-examination through time, memory and transformation.
Described as a “love letter to Tempest’s younger self,” the album sees contributions from collaborators including Neil Tennant of Pet Shop Boys, genre-defying trio Young Fathers, rising star Connie Constance and Tawiah. Tempest worked in collaboration with Grammy-winning producer Fraser T Smith to create 12 tracks.
Tempest has been building momentum with the release of an earlier single “Statue In The Square”, in mid-March, which featured prominent community figures in its video and was met with critical acclaim.
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SELF TITLED Track List:
- I Stand On The Line
- Statue In The Square
- Know Yourself
- Sunshine On
- Catford Bless
- The Bold Future
- Everything All Together
- Prayers To Whisper
- Diagnoses
- Hyperdistillation
- Forever
- Breathe Till Mornin
