Already established as boundary-pushing artists in their own right, Jake Blount and Mali Obomsawin double down on their mission to “genrequeer” old black and indigenous spirituals and folk songs with their upcoming album symbiont, out 27 September via Smithsonian Folkways.

Complete with synths and scrawling electric guitar, new track “Live Humble” is said by the duo to “epitomize the remix methods used in the creation of [the album],” explaining that their version of the song, drawn from the 1874 book Religious Folk-Songs of the Negro, combines elements of four different pieces of music. As they state in the press release:

“Inspired by a spiritual of the same name collected at the Hampton Institute that includes a spine-tingling necromantic invocation (delivered here with only minor changes), this arrangement also incorporates another version of the song recorded by Bessie Jones and the Georgia Sea Island Singers, a shape note hymn called "Occum" penned by Thomas Commuck (Narragansett/Brothertown) in 1845, and a banjo tune called ‘Koromanti’ collected from enslaved Black Jamaicans in 1687. The lyrics warn the listener to humble themselves before the world's greater forces, calling up the dead from hell and the seas to bear witness; the music, however, invites us to revel in our smallness.” 

“Live Humble” is the third and final preview single ahead of symbiont’s release, following “Old Indian Hymn” and the Joe Rainey-featuring “My Way’s Cloudy”.  Listen to the track below:

Blount and Obomsawin head out on a US tour next month, with additional dates planned in January 2025:

The Needle Drop may earn an affiliate commission via purchases on ticket links through this article.