Genesis Owusu Announces Third Album And Australian Tour Dates

Today, Ghanaian-Australian artist Genesis Owusu announces his incomparable, explosive new album REDSTAR WU & THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE, out Friday 15 May via OURNESS. To celebrate, he’ll bring his full live show across the country all release month, hitting stages in Newcastle, Canberra, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.

REDSTAR WU & THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE marks the third studio album to arrive from one of Australia’s most celebrated and visionary contemporary artists. Across the tracks, Owusu constructs an exposed state-of-the-day record, carving the purest of human emotions into song at a time when they feel most rife. Experimental yet cohesive, desolate yet ecstatic, unflinching yet free – duality punctuates the album as he layers musings on an unsettled world with piercing reflections of his, and our own, places within it. Owusu collates his blended taste seamlessly across an eclectic sound bed, threading Neo-Soul into Alt Pop, Synth Punk into Deep Funk, Brit Rock and more. Rich in lyricism and earnest in its message, the resolute body of work confronts a divisive era that is ripping at the seams of humanity and heeds the need for unity.

“I started writing this album because I was seeing so much of the world and watching what was happening,” he says of the record. “I felt like I had something important to say. I was writing this almost for necessity because there were so many people not saying what needed to be said. I feel like I’m a student of Nina Simone, and she said, ‘the purpose of an artist is to reflect the times they live in’.”

Hot off release, Owusu will take the album on tour around Australia alongside his slew of come-to-be classics. Kicking off at Newcastle’s Bar On The Hill on 14 May as part of Great Southern Nights, he’ll then celebrate the album’s release day in his hometown Canberra at UC Refectory on 15 May and venture to Brisbane’s Fortitude Music Hall on 17 May. On 18 May he’ll return to the scene of his floor-breaking show at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre, before hitting Forum Melbourne on 21 May, Adelaide’s Thebarton Theatre on 23 May and Perth’s Ice Cream Factory on 26 May.

Fans have been drip fed a fleet of singles from REDSTAR WU & THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE over the past six months, including the heated PIRATE RADIO, Brit Rock-influenced DEATH CULT ZOMBIE and the most recent anthemic, STAMPEDE, accompanied by a music video shot upon Owusu’s first return to Ghana since moving to Australia as a kid. Together the tracks have frequented triple j’s Most Played list, saw a Zane Lowe Global Premiere and a BBC 6Music premiere, plus strong international radio additions and love from BBC Radio 1, BBC 6Music, KCRW, KEXP, SiriusXMU and more. They’ve also received esteemed shout outs from Denzel Curry on Huw Stephens’ BBC 6Music show, Sian Eleri from Radio 1’s Future Artists and Anthony Fantano (The Needle Drop), who recently called STAMPEDE: “one of the most post-punky tracks he’s ever dropped, shouty new vocals, high energy, immaculate song-writing. Genesis Owusu continuing to kill it.”

In a world where prioritising community has never been more powerful, Owusu is practising his preach and spurning the album’s words into action. From sharing unreleased work in the space of fans’ homes to connecting with the faces on the other side of the streams over a game of UNO, Owusu creates space for people to come together around common ground rather than division. Last September, the unreleased album was first previewed within a string of intimate, in-the-round live residencies in Sydney and Melbourne.

Owusu’s resolute 2021 debut, Smiling With No Teeth, was a cultural reset, a fearless exploration of identity, that earned widespread critical acclaim, followed by his 2023 bold concept record STRUGGLER, which debuted at #4 on the ARIA Album Chart and received praise from Paste, NPR, Billboard and Alternative Press. Over the two albums, he secured a combined 7 ARIA Awards, including two Album of the Year titles, while standalone singles Good Times and WUTD each earned gold plaques in Australia.

His live reputation echoes his recorded output, having performed alongside Tame Impala, Paramore and IDLES, graced the iconic stages of Lollapalooza, Primavera Sound, Splendour in the Grass and Austin City Limits, plus saw him deliver a landmark sold-out performance at Sydney Opera House with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

Pre-save / pre-order Genesis Owusu’s forthcoming album today and sign up for the tour presale below to secure your spot witnessing the worldwide scourge live.

REDSTAR WU & THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE
IS OUT FRIDAY 15 MAY VIA OURNESS
PRE-ORDER / PRE-SAVE HERE

TICKETS
PRESALE AVAILABLE FROM 12PM LOCAL TIME FRIDAY 20 MARCH
TICKETS ON SALE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC FROM 12PM LOCAL TIME MONDAY 23 MARCH