Addie Brik “First Odd Prime”

They say all good things arrive in threes, and the third single to be cut from Addie’s upcoming album ‘That Dog Don’t Hunt’ (out 25 November, via Itza Records) is a prime example.

A song that dwells upon the laws of the ultimate numbers game, “The First Odd Prime” finds Addie reflecting on Fibonacci’s revolutionary sequence, and the natural order of things. As Addie explains:

“This is about compassion, as seen through the lens of Nature, The Golden Ratio, Fibonacci Numbers, with the fairy dust of the Charles Laughton film, Night of The Hunter, thrown in for colour.”

Chiming with the themes of “odd primes, the Golden Mean, rescue and homecoming” expressed in the song, the new single arrives with a mesmeric official video that finds the numerical and the natural artfully intersecting with one another. Directed by Andy Alston (Del Amitri) and co-edited with Addie Brik, the live footage was captured outside Addie’s home in Scotland, with additional film clips provided by Glenn Lewis (Mick Harvey, Cambodian Space Project).

Featuring a stellar cast of guest players, “The First Odd Prime”’s thunderous rhythms come courtesy of Simple Minds’ Jim McDermott on Drums, with Glenn Lewis (guitars) and Nick Blythe (bass) adding to its swirling maelstrom of sounds. US star N’dea Davenport (Brand New Heavies, Malcolm McClaren) also contributes her vocals to its hypnotic chorus hooks.

Following recent singles including, the slow-burning “Retromingent” and folk-tinted “Gearless”, “The First Odd Prime” is the latest excerpt to be taken from Addie Brik’s upcoming studio album ‘That Dog Don’t Hunt’ (out 25 November, via Itza Records).

The Georgia-born, Scottish-based artist’s first release since 2018’s acclaimed ‘I Have A Doctor On Board’, Addie’s new album documents the decline of Western society and culture, tells of the vilification of truth-sayers and whistleblowers, and derides the corrosion of free thought and the tide of dissolution our human liberties face in the 21st Century. Speaking about the album, Addie says:

“I think Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato… the ancient Greeks blazed a very wise trail with the Golden Mean that influenced the best of what the West has achieved. The Golden Mean can right matters, which have gone too much in one direction, like betrayal or corruption; it’s about symmetry as opposed to chaos. The US Constitution, an inspired 4-page document, is still completely revolutionary. It states that man has unalienable rights, these rights are from Divine Authority and not from the State. It was written for ‘The one dissenting voice’. Whether it be society, music, architecture or education, the overarching thought should be: is it true, is it good, is it beautiful?”.

With its initial sessions arranged by Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth, the album was recorded between Fernando Vacas’ private studio in Córdoba and her current base in Scotland during lockdown. Featuring appearances from Scottish talents including Deacon Blue’s Jim Prime (who also happens to be Addie’s neighbour), Alex Rex of Trembling Bells, Robbie MacIntosh (Paul McCartney / The Pretenders), Jim McDermott (Simple Minds / The Silencers) and The Scottish National Youth Choir; it also features contributions from further afield musicians including Glenn Lewis (who added guitars from Melbourne), plus engineering from Bob Coke and bassist Stephen Harrison from Bob’s studio in Paris. Writing retreats on the Isle of Skye with resident artist Doc Livingston (Kings of Kaakon / Uncle Rocket) would also feed into the record’s inherent sense of spaciousness and quiet contemplation.

Produced by Addie Brik, it was mixed jointly by Tufty, Paul Stacey and Pierre Marchand, with additional mixing and Mastering by Mark Beazley (Itza Records).

Purposeful and powerful, ‘That Dog Don’t Hunt’ is a record that burns with a luminescent ambition and a calescent political intent delivered by an artist at the top of her game.

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Addie Brik is a writer, singer and producer from Savannah Georgia. She relocated to the UK in 1998 and now resides in Scotland. Mentored by Allen Ginsberg and famed CBS journalist John Steinbeck Jr in her teens, her first demo tape was discovered by Peter Gabriel, which led to a deal with Geffen Records with Andy Gill (Gang of Four) producing.

Since then, Addie has co-written with the likes of Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Plaid, Tarwater, Wendy and Lisa, Sugarhill Gang, Luke Vibert, BJ Cole, members of Funkadelic, Fishbone, Maxim Rysanov, Andrei Samsonov, HB Barnum (Aretha Franklin’s legendary writer and arranger), Kate St. John, John Philip Shenale, Simple Minds, Deacon Blue and more.

Readying her first full-length album in over 4 years, ‘That Dog Don’t Hunt’ is confirmed for release on 25 November, via Itza Records. New single “The First Odd Prime” is out now.

-Official bio