The British jazz group GoGo Penguin has released a new single – “Bardo” – from their upcoming album A Humdrum Star, which will be issued on Feb. 9 on Blue Note Records. You can listen to the single through any number of streaming services here.
The trio, which came out of the Manchester UK music scene, features bassist Nick Blacka, pianist Chris Illingworth and drummer Rob Turner. A Humdrum Star is their second album for Blue Note, following Man Made Object—their debut release for the label in 2016. Their 2014 album V2.0 was nominated for a coveted Mercury Prize in the UK. The title of the new album comes from a quote by the astrophysicist Carl Sagan from his 1980 TV series Cosmos: “Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people.”
In addition, GoGo Penguin will be performing a set of shows in the U.S. later this year, including their debut in June at Bonnaroo, the large rock and pop festival in a very different Manchester, in Tennessee, an event that only rarely features jazz artists.
GoGo Penguin US Tour Dates
May 4: Elsewhere (Brooklyn, NY)
May 6: The Hamilton (Washington, DC)
May 8: Teragram Ballroom (Los Angeles, CA)
May 9: The Loft (San Diego, CA)
June 7-10: Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival (Manchester, TN)