Connelly, Chris

Forgiveness and Exile is Chris Connelly's ninth solo work, the follow-up to 2007's critically acclaimed The Episodes. 
 
The album is again produced by Tim Kinsella (Cap'n Jazz, Joan of Arc), Ben Vida (Town and Country, Terminal 4, Bird Show), and Connelly himself, and the musicians comprise the same jazz and improvisational band that played on The Episodes. This time, however, Connelly's group is augmented by the addition of four of his oldest friends: David Miller (Fini Tribe), Shirley Manson (Garbage), David Tibet (Current 93), and actress Torri Higginson (The English Patient, Stargate Atlantis). 
 
Apart from the opening song, "Arran," Forgiveness and Exile is basically one long piece divided into sections, an ever-changing and evolving meditation on war, displaced peoples, families shattered by corrupt governments, wrongful imprisonments, and torture. This impressionistic view is characterized through improvisation, dramatic change in dynamics, disparate imagery, ruined landscapes, and cities illustrated by Connelly's poetry. 
 
The subject matter here is of course extremely dark, and it has not been taken in any way lightly by its author. In an attempt to move toward easing the plight of the millions of victims of torture the world over, all monies generated by Connelly for this project will go directly to the Marjorie Kovler Center for the Treatment of Survivors of Torture, providing medical, mental health, emergency, and other support services to help survivors overcome trauma so that they may start new lives.