Photo credit: Jack McKain
Today, Allen Stone releases ‘Give You Blue’, one of his most soulful & personal songs yet and the latest track from forthcoming record Building Balance (out November 8). The “disarmingly soulful” (Billboard) R&B singer-songwriter went deep to write and record a song about love on a very personal level: “When the sky turns gray / I will give you blue” he trills over a twinkling piano, a promise of love as eternal as this song feels.
“I had recently gotten engaged to my wife and was on yet another trip to another city away from her,” says Allen of the new track. “It seemed like our entire relationship was conceived at a distance. I was in LA writing with my friend Mike Posner. It was on one particular night of this trip that Mike, myself and our friend Adam got to talking about my new engagement. I opened up and spoke about the reality of my love. The reality that seemed to be so vacant from my music. In that moment I started singing the first line of ‘Give You Blue’, “I can’t stop the rain, but I will keep you dry”. It so embodied the emotion that I felt in that moment of distance from my wife. The reality of love is not one of perfection but of persistence. On the day of our wedding, I sang ‘Give You Blue” to my wife.’
Building Balance was largely written in a cabin in the woods of Washington state and partially recorded at Sound Emporium Studios in Nashville with three producers: the acclaimed British artist/producer Jamie Lidell, Grammy-winning producer Nasri, and Jeremy Most (Emily King). The album is a textured amalgam of R&B and soul, a result of several personal co-writing sessions, collaborations with Emily King, Mike Posner & Theo Katzman / Joey Dosik of Vulfpeck, and lyrics by Allen. Equal parts sentimental (‘Brown Eyed Lover’, ‘Consider Me’) and replete with nostalgic funk (‘Back to the Swing’, ‘Sweaters’), Allen’s third album shows an artist who has grown into his own and learned to balance and appreciate all parts of his life: the vices of the past and the gifts of the present, career and family, brilliant highs and discouraging lows.
ABOUT ALLEN STONE
Allen Stone grew up in Chewelah, WA, the son of the pastor of the local church which immersed him in gospel music as a young child. Billboard has praised him saying “Stone’s disarmingly soulful vocals complement the very authenticity that he hopes to make synonymous with his music,” and WXPN says “His energetic shows, plus his warm and evocative albums, explain why Stone has such a solid fan base.” Allen Stone has performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, as well as the Special Olympics opening ceremony and has been a guest mentor on American Idol.
Allen Stone sold out the Bruce Mason Centre on his first-ever New Zealand tour back in April.
