ENCORE EPISODE: CORINNE BAILEY RAE

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Photo credit: Ulrike Rindermann

February is Black History month, and this year, it coincides with the 20th anniversary of the award-winning British artist Corinne Bailey Rae’s massively successful self-titled debut album. In 2006 its arrival immediately earned her international acclaim. It debuted at number one in the UK and Corinne Bailey Rae became the fourth female British act in history to have her first album debut at number one. The album also went top ten in the U.S.. on the Billboard chart, and spent 71 weeks in the chart from 2006 to 2008. In 2007, Corinne scored three Grammy nominations: Record of the Year, Song of the Year (both for "Put Your Records On"), and Best New Artist. She also was nominated for three BRIT Awards, and won two MOBO Awards. A personal tragedy struck in 2008 when her husband suddenly died of an accidental overdose, and Corinne Bailey Rae took a hiatus from music. Her next album, The Sea, featured songs written before and after his death, and was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2010. Next came The Heart Speaks In Whispers in 2016, now marking its 10th anniversary. Then fast forward to 2023, what began as something she was calling an art project, became the critically hailed album Black Rainbows, her fourth album and first in seven years. This project expanded her musical and artistic universe to encompass music for contemporary dance, a book, live performances, visuals, lectures and exhibitions. In 2024 it was nominated for a Mercury Prize. And this year, there is a live album coming of her orchestral performance of Black Rainbows at London's Roundhouse, and this spring, a feature-length documentary about Black Rainbows and the inspirations behind it will be released globally. Not only that, but Corrinne Bailey Rae has a children’s book coming out this spring bearing the name of her earliest hit - Put Your Records On. This week we bring you an encore presentation of our December 2023 interview discussing Black Rainbows, as well as reflections on the self-titled debut that put her on the map.