THE SMILE REVEAL STOP-MOTION ANIMATED VIDEO FOR THEIR BRAND-NEW SINGLE “THIN THING”

TRACK IS TAKEN FROM THE BAND’S UPCOMING DEBUT ALBUM A LIGHT FOR ATTRACTING ATTENTION, OUT THIS FRIDAY MAY 13th

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

The Smile have today released their brand-new, stop-motion animated video for “Thin Thing,” taken from the band’s upcoming debut album A Light For Attracting Attention, which is out this Friday May 13th digitally and June 17th physically, via XL Recordings. Watch the video here.

The video was directed by Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña and took the pair six months to make. Speaking about the video, they say:

“Hearing the song for the first time, we imagined a frenetic fluid that carries machines, pieces of human bodies and carnivorous plants. When presenting the idea to the band, Thom told us about a dream that made him write the song. We believe the video is the conjunction of these two things.”

Produced by Nigel Godrich, A Light For Attracting Attention features strings by the London Contemporary Orchestra and a full brass section of contemporary UK jazz players including Byron Wallen, Theon and Nathaniel Cross, Chelsea Carmichael, Robert Stillman and Jason Yarde.

The Smile, comprising Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood and Sons of Kemet’s Tom Skinner, have previously released the singles You Will Never Work in Television Again, The Smoke, Skrting On The Surface, Pana-vision and Free In The Knowledge to critical acclaim. In January the band played three consecutive sold-out live shows over a 24- hour period in London. These shows were simultaneously livestreamed to a worldwide audience.

The band begin their 2022 European tour on May 16th in Croatia and will be performing UK dates in London, Edinburgh, and Manchester, before heading back into Europe, with a final performance in Taormina, Sicily, on July 20th. The dates include a performance at Down The Rabbit Hole festival in the Netherlands on July 2nd and the Montreux Jazz Festival on July 12th.

For more information:
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https://thesmiletheband.com

Photo Credit: Alex Lake

ARCADE FIRE 

“UNCONDITIONAL I (LOOKOUT KID)” VIDEO LIVE NOW

APPEARING ON THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON MAY 12

NEW ALBUM WE OUT NOW

“‘Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)’ is the kind of music the world needs.” —FLOOD

Following its triumphant live network television debut this weekend on Saturday Night Live, “Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)” is the second video from Arcade Fire’s “excellent sixth album” (The New Yorker), WE, released May 6 via Columbia Records.

Directed by Academy Award nominee Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild) and edited by Affonso Gonçalves (Todd Haynes’ The Velvet Underground), “Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)” channels the “soulful, jubilant outpouring” (Stereogum) of the “joyful anthem” (SPIN) into a rich visual tapestry of youthful innocence and mischief amidst environmental tumult.  Zeitlin’s approach employs fragmented images revolving around a set of thematic ideas — youth, loneliness, pleasure, pain — all converging around unconditional love, and all using wind as the central visual mechanism. The wind is captured at its most destructive and frustrating, but ultimately as building toward an understanding that, like all forces of nature, when we accept and love them they can elevate us. “Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)” intersperses this imagery with glimpses of Arcade Fire performing the song at its recent New Orleans and Coachella performances—all this and a supporting cast of inflatable air dancers can be seen HERE. 

With its fifth SNL now in the rear view— the band having delivered stunning performances of “The Lightning I, II” and  “Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)” — Arcade Fire will make its second U.S. network TV appearance in support of WE this Thursday, May 12 on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. 

WE’s May 6 release coincided with the announcement of Arcade Fire’s fall world tour. The WE arena tour will bring the full production of Arcade Fire’s “must-see live act” (Variety) experience to global stages, launching in Dublin on Tuesday, August 30th and running through December 1st in Toronto. The North American leg of the WE tour — featuring very special guest Beck playing a nightly acoustic set — will kick off October 28th in Washington D.C., while Europe will include special guest Feist for all shows.

For further information, visit www.arcadefire.com

ARCADE FIRE 
WE 
NEW ALBUM OUT TODAY

WORLD TOUR ANNOUNCED — NORTH AMERICAN DATES TO FEATURE A SPECIAL ACOUSTIC PERFORMANCE BY BECK, EUROPEAN DATES TO FEATURE SPECIAL GUEST FEIST

APPEARING ON SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE MAY 7

Following the universally rapturous reception to singles “The Lightning I, II” and “Unconditional I (Lookout Kid),” Arcade Fire’s “excellent sixth album” (The New Yorker) WE is released to the world in its entirety today, May 6th 2022, via Columbia Records at http://af.lnk.to/_we. 

WE’s release coincides with the announcement of Arcade Fire’s fall world tour. In the wake of surprise underplays including New Orleans’ Toulouse Theatre, New York’s Bowery Ballroom, Coachella’s Mojave Tent and KOKO in London, the WE world tour will bring the full production of Arcade Fire’s “must-see live act” (Variety) experience to global stages, launching in Dublin on Tuesday, August 30th and running through December 1st in Toronto. The North American leg of the WE tour — featuring very special guest Beck playing a nightly acoustic set — will kick off October 28th in Washington D.C., while Europe will include special guest Feist for all shows.

Tickets for all dates will be on sale to the public beginning Friday, May 13th at 10am local time. Arcade Fire has partnered with PLUS1 (http://www.plus1.org) so that $1/£1/€1 per ticket goes to KANPE (http://www.kanpe.org), and their work bringing support to the most vulnerable communities in Haiti. For further information on this initiative, visit www.arcadefire.com. 

Make sure to tune into SNL tomorrow as Arcade Fire join the Saturday Night Live 5-timers club. 

ARCADE FIRE
WE
European Tour 2022

08/30/22 – Dublin, IE – 3Arena *
09/02/22 – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena Birmingham *
09/03/22 – Manchester, UK – AO Arena *
09/05/22 – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro *
09/08/22 – London, UK – The O2 *
09/11/22 – Lille, FR – Zenith*
09/12/22 – Antwerp, BE – Sportpaleis *
09/14/22 – Cologne, DE – Lanxess Arena *
09/15/22 – Paris, FR – Accor Arena *
09/17/22 – Milan, IT – Mediolanum Forum *
09/18/22 – Munich, DE – Olympiahalle *
09/21/22 – Madrid, ES – WiZink Center *
09/22/22 – Lisbon, PT – Campo Pequeno *
09/23/22 – Lisbon, PT – Campo Pequeno *
09/25/22 – Bordeaux, FR – Arkea Arena *
09/26/22 – Nantes, FR – Zenith de Nantes *
09/28/22 – Amsterdam, NL – Ziggo Dome *
09/29/22 – Berlin, DE – Mercedes-Benz Arena *
10/01/22 – Warsaw, PL –  COS Torwar *

North American Tour 2022
10/28/22 – Washington, DC – The Anthem ^
11/01/22 – Camden, NJ – Waterfront Music Pavilion ^
11/04/22 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center ^
11/08/22 – Boston, MA – MGM Fenway Music Hall ^
11/10/22 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena ^
11/12/22 – Chicago, IL – United Center ^
11/13/22 – Minneapolis, MN – The Armory ^
11/16/22 – Los Angeles, CA – The Kia Forum ^
11/19/22 – San Francisco, CA – Bill Graham Civic Auditorium ^
11/22/22 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena ^
11/25/22 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena ^
11/27/22 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place ^
12/01/22 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena ^

* with special guest Feist
^ with special guest Beck (acoustic)

RAMMSTEIN

ZEIT

NEW ALBUM OUT NOW 

“ANGST” VIDEO LIVE NOW AT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONj9cvHCado&t=0s&ab_channel=RammsteinOfficial

Hailed in advance by Revolver magazine for its balancing “slow-burning beauty with industrial-strength power,” and preceded by rapturously received singles/videos “Zeit” and “Zick Zack”, Rammstein’s new album Zeit has arrived!

The eighth full length studio album from the Berlin sextet, Zeit’s April 29, 2022 release date lands almost exactly three years to the day of its predecessor, Rammstein’s 2019 untitled album that shot straight to the top of 14 international charts—including the U.S. top 10—following the longest break between albums of their career to date.

Zeit’s release is accompanied by a third video, this time for the track “Angst”, which received its world premiere today on Rammstein’s official YouTube channel.

Over the course of a career spanning almost 30 years, Rammstein have sold more than 20 million albums around the world and played countless spectacular, groundbreaking tours. When the band’s sold-out stadium tour had to be postponed due to the pandemic, Rammstein used the time to work on their new album. Till Lindemann (vocals), Paul Landers (guitar), Richard Z. Kruspe (guitar), Flake (keyboards), Oliver Riedel (bass) and Christoph Schneider (drums) spent two years working on Zeit’s eleven songs. They were once again assisted by Berlin producer Olsen Involtini. Zeit was recorded at La Fabrique Studios in St. Rémy de Provence, France.

Bryan Adams managed to get a special scoop for the cover of the new album – the Canadian musician and photographer took the shot of Rammstein on the steps of the Trudelturm in Berlin Adlershof, an imposing monument to aerial research in the city’s Aerodynamic Park.

Zeit is available in a staggering array of multiple formats—including a standard CD in a digipack with a 20-page booklet, a special edition CD in a 6-panel digipack with a 56-page booklet including slipcase, and as a double 180g vinyl LP with a 20-page large-format booklet, as well as in the usual digital formats.

Zeit will be supported by the return of the legendary Rammstein live experience, in the form of extensive upcoming European and North American stadium tours. Check Rammstein.com for tour dates and further information.

ARCADE FIRE 

“UNCONDITIONAL I (LOOKOUT KID)”

NEW TRACK OUT NOW

FROM NEW ALBUM WE OUT MAY 6

“It’s tough to think of another band that’s as formally concerned with (or as preternaturally adept at) enabling full-body catharsis, and it’s tough to imagine another moment in which this sweaty, hyper-intimate brand of absolution might be more welcome.” —THE NEW YORKER

Having been previewed live at recent surprise performances ranging from New York’s Bowery Ballroom to Coachella’s Mojave Tent, today sees the official release of “Unconditional I (Lookout Kid),”  the second advance offering from Arcade Fire’s “excellent sixth album” (The New Yorker) WE  to be released May 6 via Columbia Records. 

Like first single “The Lightning I, II”—hailed upon its release by The New York Times as “burning… with an earnest, fiery hope”—“Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)” also appears on the second side of WE — the half of the record that channels and revels in the power and joy of human (re)connection. The song’s lyrics find Arcade Fire’s Win Butler offering heartfelt advice and concern for coming generations in the face of myriad challenges of an uncertain future. The result is a buoyant chorus of optimism celebrating unconditional love as a seemingly unachievable ideal that occurs naturally and effortlessly with one’s children.

“There’s nothing saccharine about unconditional love in a world that is coming apart at the seams,” said Win Butler. “WE need each other, in all of our imperfection. ‘Lookout Kid’ is a reminder, a lullaby for the end times, sung to my son, but for everyone… Trust your heart, trust your mind, trust your body, trust your soul. Shit is going to get worse before it gets better, but it always gets better, and no one’s perfect. Let me say it again. No one’s perfect.”

WE is produced by Nigel Godrich, Win & Régine.

For further information, visit www.arcadefire.com

Photo credit: María José Govea

SPIRITUALIZED

SPECIAL LIVE FILM OF “I’m Coming Home Again” AVAILABLE TO WATCH NOW
https://youtu.be/r7lBOKkMCKU

 EVERYTHING WAS BEAUTIFUL OUT NOW VIA FAT POSSUM

This is an album where you can hear a master at work, whose particular gift is inviting us to a beleaguered, hard-fought, and thus completely transformative transcendence. It’s good to be along for the voyage again.” –STEREOGUM (Album of the Week)

“J Spaceman’s latest opus is gloriously satisfying and self-referential, refining his orchestral space rock with alchemical power.” –PITCHFORK

Brilliant…Pierce has made an album of all highs…Spiritualized haven’t sounded this present, and beautiful, in 25 years.” –BROOKLYN VEGAN

“Marks another career-best in Spiritualized’s euphoric discography.” –PASTE

“One of the best Spiritualized albums Pierce has ever made.” –FLOOD

“Fresh and colorful… feels more vital than ever.” –RELIX

“Intricate, elastic, and soulful – just how the group has always intended to sound. Even their deepest trips have a down-to-earth feel.” –ROLLING STONE

Following the April 22 release of the band’s stunning and rapturously received ninth album, Everything Was Beautiful (Fat Possum),Spiritualized have blessed fans with a special live film of “I’m Coming Home Again,” available to watch now: https://youtu.be/r7lBOKkMCKU

Featuring a lush performance shot in black and white, the video captures an intimate rendition of Everything Was Beautiful’s epic closer “I’m Coming Home Again,” interspersed with closeups of J Spaceman and the band. Directed by Spaceman and Juliette Larthe, the footage was taken in early 2022 and filmed in the band’s Nottingham rehearsal space.

Having just completed the first run of U.S. dates in support of Everything Was Beautiful, Spiritualized will spend the summer touring the UK — with exception of a July 15 headlining appearance at the Pitchfork Festival in Chicago — before resuming their North American tour in September. The upcoming second leg of that tour will include stops in Washington D.C. (9:30 Club), Atlanta (Variety Playhouse), Milwaukee (Turner Hall Ballroom), Detroit (Saint Andrew’s Hall), New York City (Beacon Theatre) and many more. 

Be sure to grab your tickets while they last, as fans and critics alike have been left buzzing with high praise for Spiritualized’s most recent run of shows:

“The band created the perfect, slow-burning ambiance that molded the night into the psychedelic, space-rock journey a Spiritualized concert is all about… an intoxicating balance of precision, psychedelic, and raucousness… Pierce and company have never sounded better, putting on a flawless show… a show that will make you think as much as it makes you listen.” –IN MUSIC WE TRUST

“Ample proof that Pierce’s decades-long approach to meticulous and labored song craft has paid dividends to attendees, especially in a setting such as this.” –THE BIG TAKEOVER

Everything Was Beautiful is out now and available at your local record store or preferred DSP.

SPIRITUALIZED 2022 LIVE DATES

04/28/22 – Bath, UK – The Forum
04/29/22 – Cambridge, UK – Corn Exchange
04/30/22 – Brighton, UK – Dome
05/02/22 – Birmingham, UK – Symphony Hall
05/04/22 – Gateshead, UK – Sage
05/05/22 – Glasgow, UK – Galvanizers Yard
05/07/22 – Dublin, IE – Olympia Theatre
05/08/22 – Manchester, UK – Bridgewater House
05/09/22 – Nottingham, UK – Royal Concert Hall
05/10/22 – London, UK – Roundhouse
06/16/22 – Milsons Point, AUS – Big Top Luna Park Sydney
07/15/22 – Chicago, IL – Pitchfork Music Festival
07/21/22 – Macclesfield, UK – Jodrell Bank
09/08/22 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
09/09/22 – Chapel Hill, NC – Cat’s Cradle
09/10/22 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
09/11/22 – Pelham, TN – The Caverns
09/13/22 – Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall Ballroom
09/14/22 – Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line
09/16/22 – Detroit, MI – Saint Andrew’s Hall
09/18/22 – Toronto, ON – The Danforth Music Hall
09/19/22 – Montreal, QC – Corona Theatre
09/20/22 – Boston, MA – Royale
09/22/22 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
09/23/22 – Jersey City, NJ – White Eagle Music Hall
09/24/22 – New York, NY – Beacon Theatre

KIRK HAMMETT

PORTALS EP OUT APRIL 23, 2022

“HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER” VIDEO AND TRACK OUT NOW

“Portals is the rock guitar record we need for 2022. It’s a grand instrumental epic… full of the kind of heart, technical genius and awe-inspiring talent that fans have come to expect from the one-and-only Kirk Hammett.” —THE MERCURY NEWS

Kirk Hammett of Metallica rings in the release of his debut solo EP Portals with a stunning video for “High Plains Drifter.” “This music was created with what I describe as an Audio-Cinematic approach,” Hammett has said. “They’re soundtracks to the movies in your mind.” In an expression of this Audio-Cinematic approach, the newly unveiled “High Plains Drifter” animated clip directed by AWESOME + modest (Bo Burnham, Mountain Goats, U2: From The Sky Down) creates an ever-morphing psychedelic dreamscape that perfectly complements the first track released from the four-song Portals, out April 23, 2022 via Blackened Recordings across digital platforms, on CD, and as a Record Store Day Exclusive Ocean Blue Vinyl EP (including a download card).  

The “High Plains Drifter” video can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwOqs88cHWo

True to its title, Portals is a collection of gateways to myriad musical and psychic destinations. Recorded in multiple locales ranging from Los Angeles to Paris to Oahu, Portals is both the result of musical and metaphysical journeys. An invitation to inner worlds accessible only by music and the psyche it fuels. 

Produced by Kirk, Portals is comprised of the songs “Maiden and the Monster” and “The Jinn” on side A, followed by “High Plains Drifter” and “The Incantation” on side B (both co-written with Edwin Outwater, who contributes keyboards and leads the orchestral players from the LA Philharmonic on Portals—and with whom Kirk had previously collaborated on Metallica’s S&M2 concerts and releases). Other familiar names amongst the Portals players include Jon Theodore, Abraham Laboriel, Greg Fidelman, Emmy-winning arranger Blake Neely, and Bob Rock.

THE SMILE’S DEBUT ALBUM A LIGHT FOR ATTRACTING ATTENTION WILL BE RELEASED ON MAY 13th (DIGITAL) / JUNE 17th (PHYSICAL)

THE SINGLE FREE IN THE KNOWLEDGE IS OUT TODAY, APRIL 20th

LISTEN TO FREE IN THE KNOWLEDGE HERE

The Smile will release their highly anticipated debut album A Light For Attracting Attention on May 13, 2022 on XL Recordings. 

The 13-track album was produced and mixed by Nigel Godrich and mastered by Bob Ludwig. Tracks feature strings by the London Contemporary Orchestra and a full brass section of contemporary UK jazz players including Byron Wallen, Theon and Nathaniel Cross, Chelsea Carmichael, Robert Stillman and Jason Yarde.

The Smile, comprising Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood and Sons of Kemet’s Tom Skinner, have previously released the singles You Will Never Work in Television Again, The Smoke, and  Skrting On The Surface to critical acclaim. 

The Smoke was also released as a dub remix by legendary reggae producer Dennis Bovell.

The Smile’s most recent single Pana-vision was released on April 3rd and appeared in the finale of Peaky Blinders. The animated video for Pana-vision features artwork by Radiohead artist Stanley Donwood and Thom Yorke and can be seen here.

The brand new single Free In The Knowledge is out today, April 20th, with an accompanying video directed by Leo Leigh. The track was first performed by Thom Yorke as part of the Letters Live event at London’s Royal Albert Hall, in December 2021, the first time Thom had performed since the pandemic began. Introducing the song, he dedicated it to all fellow UK musicians.

Watch Free In The Knowledge HERE

In January The Smile played three consecutive sold-out live shows over a 24- hour period in London. These shows were simultaneously livestreamed to a worldwide audience. 

The band begin their 2022 European tour on May 16th in Croatia, and will be performing UK dates in London, Edinburgh, and Manchester, before heading back into Europe, with a final performance in Taormina, Sicily, on July 20th.

The dates include a performance at Down The Rabbit Hole festival in the Netherlands on July 2nd and the Montreux Jazz Festival on July 20th.

A Light For Attracting Attention will be released by XL Recordings on digital May 13th and on CD and vinyl formats June 17th.

Physical formats (all in gatefold packaging): 

• Double black vinyl 
• Limited edition double yellow vinyl (Independent retailer exclusive)
• Single CD

The full tracklisting for the album is:

1. The Same
2. The Opposite
3. You Will Never Work in Television Again
4. Pana-vision
5. The Smoke
6. Speech Bubbles
7. Thin Thing
8. Open The Floodgates
9. Free In The Knowledge
10. A Hairdryer
11. Waving A White Flag
12. We Don’t Know What Tomorrow Brings
13. Skrting On The Surface

A Light For Attracting Attention is available to pre-order: https://smarturl.it/thesmiletheband

For further information:

Instagram 
Twitter
Facebook
https://thesmiletheband.com

KIRK HAMMETT

“HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER” OUT NOW

PORTALS EP OUT APRIL 23, 2022

“This music was created with what I describe as an Audio-Cinematic approach. They’re soundtracks to the movies in your mind.” – Kirk Hammett 

Kirk Hammett of Metallica has released a first taste of his upcoming debut solo EP in the form of “High Plains Drifter.” The track opens the second side of Portals, Kirk’s four-song EP out April 23, 2022 via Blackened Recordings across digital platforms, on CD, and as a Record Store Day Exclusive Ocean Blue Vinyl EP (including a download card). 

Featuring contributions from Edwin Outwater (with whom Kirk had previously collaborated on Metallica’s S&M2 concerts and releases), Jon Theodore of Queens of the Stone Age (and Kirk’s Wedding Band bandmate), members of the LA Philharmonic and more, “High Plains Drifter” shares a unique inspirational relationship with the 1973 cinematic classic of the same name. The song, Kirk explains, “was not meant to be specifically music for that film, but it was once it was written, I immediately thought it conveyed the same sentiment as the film, so the piece was christened accordingly. The music for ‘High Plains Drifter’ initially came from a Flamenco piece I had written. It was a two-and-a-half-minute piece, and I really liked it, but it was one of those riffs that would be hard to integrate into Metallica. I knew I wanted to do something with it, even though it came out spontaneously. I had been sitting outside messing around with a Flamenco acoustic guitar I’d just bought, and it flowed out in the moment. I was determined it would have a life. It would have its moment.” 

“High Plains Drifter” can be heard here

True to its title, Portals is a collection of gateways to myriad musical and psychic destinations. Recorded in multiple locales ranging from Los Angeles to Paris to Oahu, Portals is both the result of musical and metaphysical journeys. An invitation to inner worlds accessible only by music and the psyche it fuels. Produced by Kirk, Portals is comprised of the songs “Maiden and the Monster” and “The Jinn” on side A, followed by “High Plains Drifter” and “The Incantation” on side B (both co-written with Outwater, who contributes keyboards and leads the orchestral players from the LA Philharmonic on Portals). Other familiar names amongst the Portals players include Abraham Laboriel, Greg Fidelman, Emmy-winning arranger Blake Neely, and Bob Rock.

TRANSGRESSIVE RECORDS CELEBRATES

DAMON ALBARN’S

THE NEARER THE FOUNTAIN, MORE PURE THE STREAM FLOWS

WITH THE RELEASE OF 4-DISC DIGITAL DELUXE ALBUM

“… a fresh new sonic chapter for Albarn and a wonderful way for you to leave all the nonsense
behind; blissfully reminded that there’s a beautiful world out there.” – NME

“… Albarn’s most intimate, understated work yet.” – The Telegraph

Transgressive Records celebrate an exciting release year for The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows with a 4-disc digital deluxe edition of the critically acclaimed second solo album from Damon Albarn.  Available now. 

This special edition comes almost a year after the album was first announced, just ahead of an emotional return to Glastonbury for the unique live performance and streaming event Live At Worthy Farm. The summer then saw Albarn – alongside a full live band – take to the road to perform two acclaimed shows at Manchester International Festival and Edinburgh International Festival; a special guest appearance at Latitude; as well as appear as guest headliner at the sold out End of the Road Festival. 

September brought a headline show and global stream beamed live to 92 countries around the world from the iconic Shakespeare’s Globe in London, followed by a select number of solo intimate piano dates, presented in association with local record stores, across the UK in December 2022. Albarn also finally completed a twice-postponed European concert hall tour which saw him perform songs from the album with an orchestra, and a very special final show in Reykjavik last month, back where it all began. 

Released on 12 November 2022, The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows debuted at #7 in the UK album charts, and was described by MOJO as “ … one of the most beautiful, tangentially produced artefacts of our strange and uncertain times.” Originally conceived as an orchestral piece inspired by the landscape of Iceland, the project evolved during lockdown to the 11 new tracks included on the studio album.

To accompany the record, a series of special, cinematic films entitled ‘Sublime Boulevards – Performance Films’ were released across the year on YouTube. 

A limited exhibition at the Eranda Studio at The Photographers’ Gallery, London, curated by Anna Sparham, showcased source materials and inspirations behind the album, featuring unseen artwork, photography and film footage, plus Albarn’s own sketches and lyrics.

Watch Albarn talking to Sunday Times Culture’s ‘Off The Record’ on the inspiration behind album track ‘Royal Morning Blue’.

This very special 4-disc digital deluxe release includes the original album; a full-length, one-off piano and strings performance captured live at Union Chapel, London in December 2021, including a number of Blur and Gorillaz classics; album instrumentals; plus three bonus tracks previously only made available via limited edition physical formats of the album – including ‘The Bollocked Man’, which was debuted live for the first time on Albarn’s recent European tour; ‘Huldufolk’, which translates as ‘The Hidden People’, a 20-minute composition co-written and narrated by influential Iceland musician, Einar Orn (Sugarcubes); and ‘Love & Memory’, a recital by Albarn of the John Clare poem that inspire

The complete tracklisting is:

Disc 1 – The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows (Original Album Tracklisting):
The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows                                         
The Cormorant              
Royal Morning Blue            
Combustion               
Daft Wader                  
Darkness To Light              
Esja  
The Tower Of Montevideo         
Giraffe Trumpet Sea        
Polaris         
Particles

Disc 2 – Live at Union Chapel:
The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows  
The Cormorant          
Royal Morning Blue             
Daft Wader           
Darkness To Light  
The Tower of Montevideo             
Polaris                         
Particles  
Beetlebum            
Under The Westway               
Sweet Song     
El Manana  
For Tomorrow           
Tender              
Girls & Boys
The Universal

Disc 3 – Instrumentals:
The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows  
The Cormorant                 
Royal Morning Blue                 
Daft Wader           
Darkness To Light  
The Tower of Montevideo               
Polaris             
Particles

Disc 4 – Bonus Tracks:   
The Bollocked Man                 
Love & Memory (poem recital)                             
Huldufolk (hidden track from CD format)

Download high res press images here.

Released to critical acclaim in November 2021, the album was originally conceived as an orchestral piece inspired by the landscape of Iceland, The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows evolved during lockdown to the 11 new tracks included on the album. Albarn recently performed the record in full at sold-out shows across the UK, Ireland and Europe, a highlight including two headline shows at the Barbican in February. 

In a career of perpetual musical shifts and exploration, this new record uncovers yet more ground, finding expansive orchestral arrangements nestling with intimate melodies, discordance brushing up against infectious majesty, all set to some of Albarn’s most arresting vocal performances to date. Much like the beauty and chaos of the natural world it soundtracks, The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows vividly documents the emotional ebb and flow of the human condition, in all its extremes, serving as a soul enriching document for our times.

Photo Credit: Steve Gullick