Damon Locks & Black Monument Ensemble – “Keep Your Mind Free”

Damon Locks

Damon Locks & Black Monument Ensemble – “Keep Your Mind Free”

Damon Locks

Chicago’s Damon Locks & Black Monument Ensemble have released a new single from their forthcoming album NOW. “Keep Your Mind Free,” which follows the title track as the second single off the record, reckons with mental health during the pandemic. It’s sonically trippy, merging idiosyncratic synths with hypnotic trumpet solos.

Locks said about the song:

The initial idea behind “Keep Your Mind Free” grew out of an image I created for an action to support the decarceration and furloughing of eligible people in prison to help save lives under the threat of COVID-19. The phrase was a message of encouragement to those locked up having to deal with the virus in a place where they cannot socially distance nor do most of the things the rest of us can do to avoid infection. As the pandemic raged on and the intensity of fear and isolation set in, it made sense to extend this same sentiment out to EVERYONE through song. It’s true that we all need illumination in dark days. In a time that hurts the heart and body, in a time that sequesters us from our loved ones, in a time where safety is not a given, in a locked-down world, to be liberated from restraint we have to keep our minds free.

Listen to “Keep Your Mind Free” below.

NOW is out 4/9 via International Anthem.

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