Erica Dawn Lyle announces new benefit LP, shares cover of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs"

Former Bikini Kill touring guitarist Erica Dawn Lyle has announced a new solo album, SYMPOIESIS, supporting protest efforts in the Atlanta Forest. SYMPOIESIS comes out April 26, in conjunction with a benefit show at No Tomorrow in Atlanta. The album was recorded at Erica’s home in New York, using a mix of live improv and compositions made from improv loops. She wrote and recorded it in the span of two weeks, following the murder of a protester in the Atlanta Forest by police. Protests by activists and tree sitters have been ongoing since early 2021, in efforts to stop the building of a police training facility. Erica writes:

I played in Atlanta Forest in October and the autonomous zone the protesters had created there together felt truly beautiful. There were a hundred or so young people, everyone dancing all night, all with a sense that everyone understood how special it was to be in such a free space, a sense of how much love they had for each other and the forest and pride in what they had helped to make real there.

The record is inspired by the efforts of the protesters, how they have felt called to save the forest and in a sense are working with the inhospitable terrain of the forest to fight off police and developers. The record title, SYMPOIESIS, is a term eco-philosopher, Donna Haraway, coined in her book, Staying With The Trouble, that she uses to mean the interconnectedness and interdependency of all life forms. I am trying to imagine the links between improvised music, the inter-communalism of the world the protesters hope to create, and the way that scientists now understand that trees communicate and share natural resources in a kind of mutual aid system that flows through their root systems and is aided by the work of symbiotic funguses.

SYMPOIESIS follows Erica’s 2022 album with Vice Cooler, Land Trust, which benefited Northeast Farmers Of Color and featured Kim Gordon, The Raincoats, The Linda Lindas, Kelley Deal, and more. Similarly, all preorder proceeds for SYMPOIESIS will benefit the Atlanta Solidarity Fund.

You can hear two tracks, the improvisatory title track, and a clattering and trancey cover of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs.” Listen and check out the artwork and tracklist for SYMPOEISIS below.

Erica has several tour dates coming up, in addition to the aforementioned record release/benefit show. She comes to NYC on April 30 at TV Eye with Privacy Issues, Gauche, and Or Best Offer, and again on May 27 at a secret location with guests TBA. All dates below.

SYMPOIESIS Tracklisting
1. Earth’s Creation/Symbiogenesis
2. A Seed’s A Star/Tree Medley
3. The Secret Life Of Plants
4. Sympoiesis
5. The First Garden
6. Power Flower
7. Mycorrhiza
8. The Venus Flytrap And The Bug
9. The Understory
10. War Pigs
11. Trans Refugia
12. Tree
13. Little Turtle (Outside My Window)
14. Come Back As A Flower

ERICA DAWN LYLE — 2023 TOUR DATES
April 24 Jacksonville, FL
April 26 Atlanta, GA w/ Frank/ie Consent
April 28 Washington, DC w/Privacy Issues
April 29 Philadelphia @ Planet Earth w/ Privacy Issues, Cult Objects, Keening
April 30 NYC @ TV Eye w/ Privacy Issues, Gauche, Or Best Offer
May 1 Saratoga Springs @ Desperate Annie’s w/ Privacy Issues
May 2 Greenfield, MA @ 10FW w/ Privacy Issues, Valley Gals, Fred Cracklin
May 27 NYC @ seCret loCation w/ tba