Leyla McCall has shared details of a new album titled Breaking The Thermometer.

Marking her debut for Anti- Records, the album is preceded by lead track ‘Vini Wè’, which you can watch a video for below. The record comes four years from her last full-length project, 2019’s The Capitalist Blues.

Duke University acquired the archives of Radio Haiti in 2016 and commissioned McCalla to develop a multi-disciplinary theatre project with them. That project blossomed into Breaking The Thermometer. 

The 15-track album combines original compositions and traditional Haitian music with historical broadcasts and contemporary interviews to give a sense of Haiti’s political and social conflict during the late 20th century.

“While many of the songs on the album are inspired by the listening that I have done in the archive, much of the album is deeply self-reflective – integrating experiences that I have had navigating life as a child both in the US and Haiti, my journey in claiming my Haitian-American identity and understanding the experiences, sacrifices and challenges overcome by my immigrant relatives,” McCalla says.

You can pre-order Breaking The Thermometer here before its release on 6th May. Check out the artwork and tracklisting below.

Breaking The Thermometer Tracklisting:

1. Nan Fon Bwa

2. Fort Dimanche

3. Bon Appétit Messieurs

4. Le Bal est Fini

5. Dan Reken

6. Dodinin

7. Ekzile

8. Pouki

9. You Don’t Know Me

10. Jean and Michele

11. Vini Wè

12. Artibonite

13. Still Looking

14. Memory Song

15. Boukman’s Prayer