From the moment Adanowsky first learned to play guitar thanks to lessons as a seven year old from George Harrison, he was hooked.
“He showed me E, A, and B,” recalled Adanowsky of Harrison, a friend of his father. “Then he said, ‘Now you know rock & roll – that’s all you need’.”
It was a lesson in classic songwriting that Adanowsky still applies on his disarmingly honest tenth solo album The Fool, due this Spring via Universal Music Mexico.
Today, February 27, Adanowsky shares the dreamlike album opener “When the Angel Comes” with his finely-grained vocal intertwining beautifully with Karen O’s signature timbre and daydream-inspired lyrics. Its Twilight Zone-inspired black-and-white shadow play video, featuring Adanowsky’s actor/director brother Brontis and producer/singer nephew Dante, only enhances the song’s ethereal aura.
The LP marks a rebirth of the Adanowsky alter ego after two albums released under his birth name, Adán Jodorowsky. “When I was Adán Jodorowsky, I became a music producer and produced a lot of successful artists,” he explained. “But I forgot about myself, and I missed the stage and the craziness.”
The Fool is a singular, distinctive mélange of indie rock, pop, and folk informed by its French-Mexican creator’s multi-cultural roots and global lifestyle. After a Parisian upbringing, Adanowsky spent years immersed in tango dancing in Argentina, then a spell in Madrid absorbing flamenco music. His time in L.A. included collaborating with Devendra Banhart, before settling in Mexico City, where he self-produced The Fool alongside French singer Victor Mechanick, using vintage analog equipment and 1960s guitars.
“For years I was doing music in order to please people, to be successful,” said Adanowsky. “With this album, I decided to do music that I could listen to. So, that’s the kind of music I want to do now, and I don’t care about having success or not. I just want to do the music I love.”
He creates a new character for every album, which is then killed off during the accompanying live shows. The Fool persona is inspired by both Adanowsky’s lifelong consulting of Tarot cards and his passion-project approach to writing and recording the album.