David Byrne has taken to social media to apologise for the lack of gender diversity on his new album, American Utopia, saying he regrets not collaborating with women.
David Byrne has taken to social media to responded to criticism for the lack of gender diversity on his new album, saying he regrets not collaborating with women.
The album is Byrne’s first solo effort in 14 years and features collaborations with the likes of Brian Eno, Oneohtrix Point Neve, Sampha, and Blood Orange. Recently he shared a playlist listing the people that helped work on the LP, all of which were men.
Fans were soon to point out the lack of diversity on the album, of which Byrne address this morning saying he never thought he was “one of those guys, but I guess to some extent I am”.
“I’d like to thank those of you who wrote for calling attention to this — this matters a lot to me,” Byrne wrote in a statement posted to his Instagram. “I regret not hiring and collaborating with women for this album — it’s ridiculous, it’s not who I am and it certainly doesn’t match how I’ve worked in the past. It doesn’t represent my current live show, which has a slew of diverse creators and collaborators, making this even more negligent on my part.”
“It’s hard to realize that no matter how much effort you spend nudging the world in what you hope is the right direction, sometimes you are part of the problem,” Byrne adds. “I never thought of myself as being ‘one of those guys,’ but I guess to some extent I am. Your responses serve as a corrective. Thank you.”
See the full post below.
