Corinne Bailey Rae on the Expansive Inspirations of 'Black Rainbows'

Sound & Vision

Corinne Bailey Rae has released her fourth studio album, called Black Rainbows, largely inspired by Theaster Gates' restoration of The Stony Island Arts Bank.

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photo by ulrike rindermann

Corinne Bailey Rae of “Put Your Records On” fame has released her fourth studio album, called Black Rainbows. It was largely inspired by Theaster Gates' arts-focused restoration of The Stony Island Arts Bank, a former community savings and loan building in the south side of Chicago that has been transformed into what’s been described as a cathedral of Black art.

On this episode, Corinne Bailey Rae talks about the history of the building and what kind of art and artifacts it now showcases, and how those collections have inspired songs on the record. She also talks about getting "extraterrestrial" on this album as she explored the idea of transformation.

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