Stream: The Dirty Diamond, ‘Going Through Changes’ (feat. Andra Day)

Kevin Bronson on May 13th, 2019

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What happens when a song about changes goes through some changes itself?

It becomes the soulful classic rock beast “Going Through Changes,” the lead track on the Dirty Diamond’s forthcoming album “From the Stars,” out June 14.

The song features Grammy-nominated heavy-hitter Andra Day, who trades off vocals with the Dirty Diamond’s frontman and principal songwriter, Sam Babayan. He’s no slouch himself — his roots in the L.A. rock scene date to the mid-Aughts, when the Dirty Diamond released their first album and his band Slow Motion Reign released an album on Serj Tankian’s label.

“Going Through Changes” was originally “Changes,” released as a single in 2016, with no guest vocalist. The change is testament to how a song can grow fangs.

“It was truly an honor and joy to do this song with The Dirty Diamond,” Days says. “I saw them live first and was blown away, so when the opportunity to do this song with them came up, I was on it. They’re musically brilliant and soulful. I connected to the song right away sonically and spiritually. The lyrics really elicit a feeling of being on a precipice but help to turn falling into a leap of faith. They bring peace to such an uncomfortable moment.”

Says Babyan: “When I was first sketching the outlines of this song, my idea was for it to be a switch-off duet between my voice and a powerful woman’s voice … kind of like ‘Gimme Shelter’ by the Rolling Stones. It took our group some time to … actually make it happen.”

Babayan is joined in the band by a group of guys with estimable resumés. Bassist Derek Frank has played with Gwen Stefani and Shania Twain; Shay Godwin has drummed for Day; and guitarist Fernando Perdomo is an all-around talent who played with and produced many artists, in addition to releasing his own music.

||| Stream: “Going Through Changes”