Tedeschi Trucks Band will embark on the most ambitious project of its career with I Am The Moon. The band’s fifth studio release will come in the form of four albums, each with a corresponding film, set to drop individually from May through August.
Announced on Wednesday, I Am The Moon takes inspiration from Layla and Majnun, an epic 12th-century Persian poem chronicling two star-crossed lovers, as well as the modern feelings of isolation brought on by the pandemic. The project will span 24 songs totaling over two hours of new music across the four installments, I. Crescent; II. Ascension; III. The Fall; and IV. Farewell.
Nizami Ganjavi‘s poem also circles back to another major inspiration for TTB, Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs. Eric Clapton‘s 1970 Derek and the Dominos album was influenced by the same poem, as he chronicled his forbidden love for the titular Layla. Tedeschi Trucks Band vocalist Mike Mattison, however, proposed flipping the narrative from Layla’s point of view.
“When Mike said, ‘Well, what does Layla think about all this?’ I thought that was an amazing way to look at the story,” Derek Trucks said.
More classic albums left an indelible mark on the format of I Am The Moon, as Trucks said of the Jimi Hendrix Experience‘s 1967 LP Axis: Bold as Love, “It’s 36 minutes long. That’s the way to digest a record.”
In that spirit of digestibility, Tedeschi Trucks Band will debut each visual component of I Am The Moon three days before the album as a communal viewing experience on the band’s YouTube channel. The film component will combine studio performances with atmospheric photography and imagery. The films will include shots from internationally renowned art sites in Buena Vista, Georgia, Pasaquan created by the eccentric folk artist known as St. EOM. St. EOM, who changed his name from Eddie Owens Martin in 1957, spent 30 years creating the six major structures, mandala murals, and over 900 feet of painted masonry walls found at Pasaquan. The first episode, I. Crescent, will debut on Tuesday, May 31st at 9 p.m. ET.
See below for the full schedule of Tedeschi Trucks Band I Am The Moon releases, as well as a trailer for the project starring the band. The album is available for pre-order here in a variety of formats that will ship on September 9th. For more information visit the band’s website.
Tedeschi Trucks Band – I Am the Moon (Trailer)
I. Crescent
II. Ascension
III. The Fall
IV. Farewell