Binary Ani DiFranco

• 1 Binary 04:22
• 2 Pacifist's Lament 05:55
• 3 Zizzing 05:56
• 4 Play God 04:53
• 5 Alrighty 03:15
• 6 Telepathic 03:12
• 7 Even More 04:08
• 8 Spider 03:53
• 9 Sasquatch 05:46
• 10 Terrifying Sight 05:14
• 11 Deferred Gratification 03:05
• Total Runtime 49:39

Info for Binary

Written prior to the 2016 election, the songs on Binary are prescient of the current political situation in America. Ani tackles the challenge and necessity of teaching non-violence with “Pacifist’s Lament” and the need for empathy in “Terrifying Sight.” “Play God,” a rallying cry for reproductive rights, is currently playing out in Congress. And on the title track, DiFranco reveals the larger meaning of the album. “This binary principle is echoed throughout our bodies, “ Ani notes. “With one ear, we “hear” but only with two ears can we perceive the full spectrum of depth and position. This idea that refuses now to let me go; that nothing can truly exist except in relationship with something else, is where this song and this album are coming from.”

The backbone of Binary’s sound is DiFranco’s long-time rhythm section of bassist Todd Sickafoose and drummer Terence Higgins, but on much of the album, the trio is augmented with some all-star guests. Virtuoso violinist Jenny Scheinman and keyboard wizard Ivan Neville both join in for more than half of the record. Other contributors include the legendary Maceo Parker, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, and Gail Ann Dorsey, longtime bassist for David Bowie. New Orleans resident DiFranco takes special pride in the Crescent City funk spearheaded by natives Higgins and Neville on a number of the tunes. “Their souls are of this place,” she says. “The feel they bring is something they got in utero.” When it came time to mix Ani turned things over to Tchad Blake (The Black Keys, Pearl Jam), the result a bold sonic imprint elevating the songs to a new level in her canon.

"While I was precedent-setting at one time with Righteous Babe and my indie crusade, I feel like, in the time it took me to nurse another baby into being, I’ve fallen behind," she says. "The universe and technology have continued to evolve, and the idea of harnessing technology and crowd-sourcing everything—money, knowledge, revolution—is a very powerful concept that I’m ready to get more involved with. Righteous Babe is starting to grow now into something that will hopefully become avant-garde once again- more of a collective, more dynamic."

Ani DiFranco, vocals, guitar, mellotron, guitar-synthesizer
Todd Sickafoose, bass, celeste, keyboards, vibraphone, Wurlitzer, prepared piano
Terence Higgins, drums, congas, pandiero
Ivan Neville, organ, Clavinet, bass, piano, Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer
Jenny Scheinman, violin, backing vocals
Maceo Parker, alto saxophone
Skerik, tenor and baritone saxophones
Alonzo Bowens, clarinet
Bobby Campo, trumpet
Mark Mullins, trombone
Justin Vernon, backing vocals
Petah Napolitano, backing vocals
Gail Ann Dorsey, backing vocals

Recorded 2015–2016 at The Dugout Esplanade Studios, New Orleans, Louisiana
Produced by Ani DiFranco

Ani DiFranco
Widely considered a feminist icon, Grammy winner Ani DiFranco is the mother of the DIY movement. Ani was one of the first artists to create her own record label in 1990. While she has been known as the “Little Folksinger,” her music has embraced punk, funk, hip hop, jazz, soul, electronica and even more distant sounds. Her collaborators have included everyone from Utah Phillips to legendary R&B saxophonist Maceo Parker to Prince. She has shared stages with Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Pete Seeger, Kris Kristofferson, Greg Brown, Billy Bragg, Michael Franti, Chuck D., and many more. She is releasing her new album Binary in 2017.

Rejecting the major label system has given her significant creative freedom. She has referenced her staunchly-held independence in song more than once, including in “The Million You Never Made” (Not a Pretty Girl), which discusses the act of turning down a lucrative contract, “The Next Big Thing” (Not So Soft), which describes an imagined meeting with a label head-hunter who evaluates the singer based on her looks, and “Napoleon” (Dilate), which sympathizes sarcastically with an unnamed friend who did sign with a label. After recording with Ani in 1999, Prince described the effects of her independence. “We jammed for four hours and she danced the whole time. We had to quit because she wore us out. After being with her, it dawned on me why she’s like that – she’s never had a ceiling over her.”

Her lyrics are rhythmic and poetic, often autobiographical, and strongly political. “Trickle Down” discusses racism and gentrification, while “To The Teeth” speaks about the need for gun control, and “In or Out” questions society’s traditional sexuality labels. Most recently, the 2016 single “Play God” has become a battle cry for reproductive rights. Rolling Stone said of her in 2012, “The world needs more radicals like Ani DiFranco: wry, sexy, as committed to beauty and joy as revolution.”

Over the years she’s performed at countless benefit concerts, donated songs to many charity albums, and given time and energy to many progressive causes. She has learned from and demonstrated beside Gloria Steinem, Jesse Jackson and Denis Kucinich. In 2004, she met with Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma and donated a song to raise funds for the United States Campaign for Burma. The same year, she marched in the front row of the March for Women’s Lives along with Margaret Cho, Janeane Garofalo, Whoopi Goldberg, and many others, later performing on the main stage. She has beat the drum for voter registration and turnout with “Vote Dammit” tours in multiple presidential election years, including most recently in 2016. She’s currently on the board of Roots of Music, an organization that provides at-risk youth with support and musical education in New Orleans.

As an iconic songwriter and social activist, she has been the inspiration for woman artists and entrepreneurs for over two decades. She has been featured on the covers of SPIN, Ms., Relix, High Times, and many others for her music and activism. She is the idol of empowered women who came of age in the 90s and continues to bring younger fans into her fold. From Alice Walker to Amy Schumer, Ani is respected by wordsmiths across milieux and generations. She blazed the trail for self-directed artist careers and has been cited by musicians from Prince to Bon Iver as an inspiration to release their own art outside of the major label system.

Ani has been the recipient of many honors and awards, including a Grammy for best album package (Evolve), the Woman of Courage Award from the National Organization for Women, the Gay/Lesbian American Music Award for Female Artist of the Year, and the Woody Guthrie Award. At the 2013 Winnipeg Folk Festival she received their prestigious Artistic Achievement Award, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Winnipeg. In 2017, she will be receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award from A2IM (a nonprofit trade organization that represents independent record labels) and the Outstanding Achievement for Global Activism Award from A Global Friendship.

Booklet for Binary