Tanika Charles Announces New Album 'Papillon de Nuit: The Night Butterfly'

The vocalist's latest features DijahSB, Khari Wendell McClelland and more

BY Calum SlingerlandPublished Feb 1, 2022

Tanika Charles has returned with details of a new album. The acclaimed Toronto-based soul singer will spread her wings on third album Papillon de Nuit: The Night Butterfly, arriving April 8 via Record Kicks/Unique Applause.

Following her Juno nominated, Polaris Music Prize long-listed 2019 LP The Gumption — which was among Exclaim!'s Best Soul Albums of 2019 — The Night Butterfly was composed and recorded "while in and out of lockdowns," after the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt on tour plans behind her aforementioned sophomore LP. 

"I was in some dark places. My energy was stagnant and the only reliable constant was this perpetual uncertainty," Charles — who shared her isolation space with Exclaim! in early 2020 — recalled in a statement. "I had gone from feeling like I was everywhere to only being in one place. From seeing so many new faces, to only my own, in the mirror, every day and having to face that. Getting back to work on music allowed me to explore these feelings through the format I know best. And I wanted to make sure that when things were ready to resume, I'd be ready with something new for my audience too."

Said to be an effort "anchored in growth and maturity," Papillon de Nuit takes its poetic title from the winged creatures known best as moths. Charles offers, "I always thought it was a strange insect. Once while in Paris, a friend swatted at one and I asked: 'Was that a moth?' I was told: 'No, that's a papillon de nuit.' I thought that was the most beautiful description for this otherwise overlooked creature. When I later learned of the symbolism associated with it, I felt that really spoke to both my own situation and also what we've all been going through."

Joining Charles on the album are Toronto MC DijahSB, Khari Wendell McClelland of the Sojourners, while further contributions come from Robert Bolton, Kevin Henkel, Scott McCannell, Ben MacDonald and Chino de Villa of Safe Spaceship Records, Todd "HiFiLo" Pentney, Jesse Bear, Dakarai Morris-James and Sean "D/SHON" Henderson.

"Rent Free" is the first song from Papillon de Nuit to wing its way to listeners, and you can hear it below. Papillon de Nuit is now available for pre-order.

"I think this album represents my best work to date," Charles concludes of her latest. "And yet, it also represents me coming to terms with who I am as an artist. For the first time, I think I've actually accepted my own voice. I can hear beyond the imperfections, and I realized that when paired with the right music, it can sound pretty good. I still have my doubts and my dark places, but a little less of them."



Papillon de Nuit: The Night Butterfly:

1. Million Ways
2. Hold Me (Like a Grudge)
3. Frustrated
4. Don't Be So Entitled
5. Rent Free
6. Gin and Wine
7. Papillon de Nuit
8. Different Morning (feat. DijahSB)
9. Love Don't Mean a Thing
10. Paintbrush and a Palette
11. Honey Baby (feat. Khari Wendell McClelland)

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