Lydia Ainsworth

Acclaimed singer, composer and producer Lydia Ainsworth will share her upcoming fourth album Sparkles & Debris on May 21 via Zombie Cat Records. The record follows 2019’s Phantom Forest and blends live drums, guitars and bass with Ainsworth’s signature vast electronic landscapes. “Longing seems to be a major theme running through my songs on this album,” says Ainsworth. “Whether that is longing in love, longing to be free from oppression, or longing for the muse of inspiration to make an appearance. I have included some spells and charms in there as well that have proven effective, if any of my listeners want to use them for help with their own desires.” Written and produced by Ainsworth in Toronto, New York and Los Angeles over many years, Sparkles & Debris reflects her usual composer’s mindset and instinct for idiosyncratic melodies and structures. The album also marks a departure from the more solitary creative process that her previous releases were born from. Ainsworth recorded all her vocals at her engineer/mixer Dajaun Martineau’s studio in Toronto. Mark Kelso provided live drums and Neil Chapman and John Findlay added electric guitar and bass in the city’s Desert Fish and Noble St. studios. These live elements blend with Ainsworth’s own samples, programming and voice to create the record’s sonic tapestry. Lydia Ainsworth is an internationally acclaimed singer, composer and producer whose 2015 debut album Right from Real was nominated for a Juno Award for best electronic album and shortlisted for the Polaris Prize. In 2017 her second LP, Darling of the Afterglow, brought with it headlining tours of North America, Europe and Japan as well as support tours with Perfume Genius. In 2019 she released Phantom Forest, and that same year, “Earth Song,” her collaboration with Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, appeared in the last episode of Season 3 of Stranger Things. Her original scores for film and commercials have screened at festivals such as Sundance, Cannes and Hot Docs.