When we premiered the first single off of Soft Cat’s forthcoming LP, “Somebody,” Caitlin wrote a bit about the tragic circumstances that inspired the completion of the album. Soft Cat’s figurehead, Neil Sanzgiri, had an emotionally difficult year that culminated in the DIY show space and art collective he lived in with other members of the band, Open Space, burning down in 2013. For Soft Cat being a relatively unknown band, there is a heightened level of mythology surrounding All Energy Will Rise, but despite the agonizing circumstances that wrought it, the record is anything but melancholic. It’s triumphant. All Energy Will Rise is Sanzgiri’s phoenix, a victorious declaration that when everything goes to hell, it’s important to keep in touch with all of the things that stay on this earth long after we’re gone. Sanzgiri had a host of friends and supporters help him with “Diana,” which was recorded over the course of six months in four different states:

The song was entirely a studio creation, and features collaborations with Ethan Helm on woodwinds and Tyler Tadlock on percussion (of the Jackson based electronic project Spirituals). Baltimore contributions include Rod Hamilton on vibraphones, Jon Birkholz on Rhodes, Amanda Glasser on vocals, Louis Weeks on piano in Baltimore and Austin Tally (of the band Wing Dam) on pedal steel and bass. Stephen Steinbrink had a huge hand in helping to mix the whole thing with me at Dub Narcotic Studios in Olympia.

Listen to the result of the collaboration and check out Soft Cat’s tour dates below.

Tourdates:
03/13 Athens, OH @ Wolf Haus *
03/14 Bloomington, IN @ House Show w/ Vollmar *
03/15 Nashville, TN @ House Show *
03/16 Fayetteville, AR @ Backspace *
03/18 Denton, TX @ Macaroni Island *
03/19 – 03/21 – SXSW *
03/22 Jackson, MS @ The Mosquito *
03/23 Birmingham, AL @ House Show *
03/24 Atlanta, GA @ Mammal Gallery Upstairs *
03/25 Athens, GA @ Flicker Bar *
03/26 Asheville, NC @ Das Puup Haus *
03/29 New York @ Nola Darling April
04/08 Baltimore, MD @ The Bahamas – Album Release party
04/10 New York City @ The Silent Barn – Album Release party

% * w/ Small Wonder
^ w/ Mitski & Hundred Waters
% w/ Foxes in Fiction & Yours Are The Only Ears

All Energy Will Rise is out 4/7 via Miscreant/Father Daughter.