Portland’s own Alela Diane has long occupied a singular space in contemporary folk—equal parts hushed intimacy and emotional gravity. On May 22, she returns with her seventh album, Who’s Keeping Time?, arriving via Fluff & Gravy Records and Loose Music. The record finds Diane tracing the fragile threads between grief and community, solitude and collaboration, and ultimately, presence.
The catalyst for the album was a profound loss. On April 1 of last year, beloved folk lifer Michael Hurley—a towering figure in the Portland scene and far beyond—passed away at 83. Diane, who counted Hurley not just as an influence but as a friend, was shaken. Performing at a tribute show in his honor, she felt something shift. In the shared space of mourning, music reasserted itself not as retreat but as gathering. The experience clarified a simple but urgent desire: to be present, to witness live music, to make it alongside others.
Back in the attic of her 1892 Victorian home, Diane began writing again. The songs that would become Who’s Keeping Time? flickered to life in the dust and quiet, shaped by reflection and a renewed pull toward collaboration. The album’s lead single, “California,” offers the first glimpse. Written after a brief return to the tiny Northern California town where she grew up, the song drifts through memory and dislocation. A chance encounter with a familiar-but-unplaceable face becomes a meditation on time’s wildfire speed—how landscapes endure even as recollections fade to ghostly outlines. It’s a classic Diane composition: gentle but unsparing, rooted in place yet untethered by nostalgia.
After a stretch of largely solo releases, Diane opted for a more communal approach this time around. She connected with drummer Danny Austin-Manning at Clay Street Studios, who introduced her to co-producer Sam Weber (known for work with Madison Cunningham and Anna Tivel). Joined by bassist Sebastian Owens, the group recorded fifteen songs in under five days—tracking them live in Diane’s attic, where they were first written. Tivel returns with backing vocals and violin, while Peter Lalish of Lucius adds guitar. Fellow Pacific Northwest mainstays Kati Claborn and Luke Ydstie of Blind Pilot and AC Sapphire contribute additional textures, deepening the album’s sense of creative kinship.
The final 11-song set moves fluidly between lullaby-like restraint, raw confession, and near-cinematic sweep. Diane’s voice—mellifluous, steady, and unmistakably her own—anchors each shift. Lyrically, she continues to demonstrate the rare strength it takes to sit with pain without succumbing to it, a skill she’s refined over a discography.
With Who’s Keeping Time?, Diane doesn’t just process grief—she transforms it into something shared. The album reaffirms her place as one of folk’s most enduring and quietly powerful voices, grounded in community and guided by the belief that song remains a living, breathing force. She’ll support the release with dates across Europe and the U.S. Pacific Northwest, including an appearance at the 2026 edition of Pickathon Music Festival, bringing these attic-born songs back into the communal spaces that inspired them.
Who’s Keeping Time? Tracklisting:
- California
- Galloping
- In My Own Time
- Dusty Roses
- Could Be
- Spring Is A Fine Time To DIe
- Wide Open Spaces
- Piss, Coffee, Blood or Wine
- To Be Kind
- Fragile As A Flame
- Endless Waltz
Alela Diane On Tour:
May 22 — Zurich, CH @ Rote Fabrik
May 23 — Schorndorf, DE @ Manufaktur
May 24 — Beverungen, DE @ Orange Blossom Festival
May 25 — Rotterdam, NL @ LantarenVenster
May 26 — Deventer, NL @ Burgerweeshuis
May 28 — London, UK @ Rough Trade Denmark Street
June 12 — Trout Lake, WA @ Trout Lake Hall
June 13 — Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
June 18 — Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern
July 3 — Nürnberg, DE @ St. Katharina Open Air
July 30-August 2 — Happy Valley, OR @ Pickathon
