The duo previewed the forthcoming album with a largely-improvised song titled “Sound Then Words”
Saul Williams and Carlos Niño will release their debut collaborative album, Saul Williams Meets Carlos Niño & Friends at TreePeople, on Aug. 28. The duo have previewed the LP with an expansive, 16-minute track titled “Sound Then Words.”
The improvised album, produced by Niño, was recorded live under black oak and walnut trees in Coldwater Canyon Park in Los Angeles on Dec. 18, 2024. The performance, set up by Noah Klein of Living Earth on the grounds of longstanding conservationist organization TreePeople, was the first of its kind for Williams and Niño, who have been friends since the late 1990s.
The recording features an array of musicians Niño assembled and directed, including Nate Mercereau, Aaron Shaw, Andres Renteria, Maia, Francesca Heart, and Kamasi Washington.
To support the release, Williams and Niño will embark on tour together this fall. The trek kicks off at the Walk the Block Festival in Seattle on Sept. 27 and continues through Nov. 15, when the pair will perform at Le Guess Who? Festival in Utrecht, Netherlands. It includes a performance at Pitchfork Festival in London and two nights at TreePeople in Los Angeles.
Williams recently appeared in Ryan Coogler’s hit film Sinners as preacher Jedidiah Moore. The musician and songwriter has previously collaborated with artists like Nine Inch Nails, Janelle Monae, Pharrell Williams, and Denzel Curry, and he starred in Holler If Ya Hear Me, a Broadway musical featuring music by Tupac Shakur. Niño is a Los Angeles-based musician and producer best known for his work with André 3000 (both artists appeared on the rapper’s most recent LP, New Blue Sun).
