| A Love Surreal | ||||
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| Released | February 26, 2013 | |||
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| Length | 52:53 | |||
| Label | eOne Music | |||
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| Singles from A Love Surreal | ||||
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A Love Surreal is the fourth[1] studio album by American singer-songwriter Bilal. It was released on February 26, 2013, by eOne Music, his first album for the label.
Bilal recorded the album in five months in sessions at studios in Brooklyn, Clifton, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. He was joined by most of the recording crew from his 2010 album Airtight's Revenge, including producer Shafiq Husayn, drummer Steve McKie, and pianist Robert Glasper. The singer wrote and produced most of A Love Surreal, which he titled in reference to his unreleased second album Love for Sale and John Coltrane's 1965 album A Love Supreme.
A Love Surreal explores different stages of love in a cycle of slow-burning songs that Bilal wrote with female listeners in mind. The songs abandon the personal and societal themes of Airtight's Revenge in favor of lyrics about cultivating a romance and meditative laments on its dissolution. Musically, Bilal wanted to make the album sound multidimensional and drew on the surrealist art of Salvador Dalí for inspiration, while incorporating sounds from R&B, funk, jazz, rock, hip hop, electronica, and psychedelic music.
Bilal premiered songs from the album in his performance at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia. Its lead single "Back to Love" was released on December 11, 2012. A Love Surreal received widespread acclaim from critics, who praised Bilal's expressive singing, clever songwriting, and mellow musical style.