Today, (July 28th, 2023) Beirut Blues-Rock artist The Wanton Bishops release new single “Do What You’re Told”, a commanding and psychedelic concoction channeling a dystopian atmosphere. Watch the visualiser for “Do What You’re Told” below.
“‘Do What You’re Told’ is a journey into political mass manipulation, hypnotic technology, and heavy consumerism compensating for a true and meaningful sense of belonging and connection. The whole song is a political speech like we hear hundreds of around the world every single day, triggering fear to achieve results and insecurities for control. A showcase of the exponential effects of politics on people in the middle east in general and Beirut, Lebanon in particular”, comments Nader Mansour (AKA The Wanton Bishops) on the track.
The track is a beat-driven chunk of gutsy blues-rock laced with low-slung grooves, punchy vocal deliveries & a hint of the Orient – a unique strand that runs through The Wanton Bishops’ latest work and a nod to Nader’s roots.
The Wanton Bishops, though a band by every definition of the word, is primarily the vision of one eclectic man – Nader Mansour. A cultural anomaly, considering the fact that he was born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon, Nader as lead singer is the very epitome of a howling blues man.
Following the release of debut album “Sleep with the Lights On”, a Delta blues record inspired by the likes of RL Burnside and Muddy Waters, Nader journeyed to America’s deep south to experience the roots of Mississippi blues. The experience spawned a musical epiphany, as he returned home to Lebanon a changed man with a newly inspired musical vision. Nader’s music slowly emerged from the Delta swamps into the Lebanese mountains, and the music of The Wanton Bishops began to reflect Nader’s homeland, his people, and his personal journey. To quote Nader: “I’m finally getting to the core of the music I want to create, and that core is scarily confused, yet uniquely special, much like our own identity as Lebanese people living in Beirut, that eternal cultural crossroad”. This experimentation is initially heard on the band’s EP “Nowhere Everywhere”, and has now become fully realized on forthcoming studio album “Under the Sun”, due for release on November 17th, 2023, Gnu Roam, distributed via Kartel Music Group.
“Under the Sun” is an exploration of identity and ultimately a love letter to Beirut, capturing Nader’s kaleidoscopic life journey through a melting pot of musical influences; oriental, electronic, blues, rock n’ roll, psychedelic, surf, synth pop and dance. “It’s Lebanese Rock”, adds Nader, “a new genre, a blueprint for future music. It’s not fusion, it’s confusion, it’s not world music, it’s music from the world, for the world”.
Pre-order & pre-save “Under the Sun” here.
Tracklist:
1. Don’t You Touch The Radio
2. Beirut
3. Do What You’re Told
4. Ya Habibi
5. God’s Own Remedy
6. We Are One
7. Gonna Be Fine
8. Run Run
9. Fallen Angel
10. Jericho
Weblinks:
thewantonbishops.com
www.facebook.com/thewantonbishops
