Two years ago, Diagrams‘ Sam Genders read Washington State-based poet Dorothy Trogdon‘s book Tall Woman Looking. Little did he realise at the time that this would lead to a unique musical collaboration with Trogdon, who is now 90 years old.
‘I Tell Myself’ is the third single released from the highly anticipated album Dorothy, which is due on 12th May via Bookshop Records. The song (like the rest of the album) sets Trogdon’s words to Diagrams’ music – Trogdon sent a poem of that name to Genders when the two first began corresponding.
Wonderful lyrics like “This morning rain/Makes a mirror of the pavement/Lovely shards of sky and light,” are coupled with the up-tempo track which heavily employs a euphoric brass section and somehow just sounds totally right for the nonagenarian’s words.
“I’ve never been involved with a project quite like this, but it’s one of the most inspiring musical experiences I’ve had,” recalls Genders. “Meeting Dorothy, I was excited and a little nervous at first. It felt like we’d become friends through our emails and songs: I really hoped that connection would be real when we met.”
If ‘I Tell Myself’ is anything to go by, the album will be well worth a listen.
