Ross McHenry, award-winning composer, producer, and bass player, will be releasing his new body of work The Outsiders this November.
The project features New Zealand drummer Myele Manzanza and Australian pianist and composer Matthew Sheens. With the idea being born in New York, and beginning at WOMADelaide in 2015, the three musicians developed the concept and created The Outsiders over two years.
McHenry elaborated in the announcement:
“It was instantly fulfilling and I loved rediscovering the freedom of the trio format; it wasn’t a format I’d played in for years but I knew immediately that I needed to pursue it further.” Said McHenry
“This album is the first album where I have actively written with a sense of cultural identity in mind. I didn’t intend to create this trio with people who inherently understand the themes I was trying to achieve with this project, in fact the group came together almost by chance. Luckily for me it turned out that when we all got in a room together to record music, I found that Sheens and Manzanza understood and felt acutely what I was talking about.”
McHenry has also released a preview of the project today, which you can watch here:
McHenry’s music explores the concept of belonging in the modern world, and as the announcement elaborated, “The Outsiders is an eight-track exposé delving into Australia’s rich sense of borrowed cultural heritage, political misgivings, and innate persona.”
For more information, head to: http://www.rossmchenry.com/