New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Missing Piece Group) On April 29th, Ben Watt, also known as one half of
Everything But The Girl and founder of Buzzin' Fly Records, will release Hendra, his first album in more than 30 years. The album will be released on his own new imprint, Unmade Road through Caroline International and is, in Ben's words, "simply a folk-rock record in an electronic age."
Following the title track's premiere at The Guardian earlier this year, "
Spring" is the second track to be pulled from the record.
Yesterday, The Onion's AV Club premiered the "gorgeous track" and said "Hendra is his first solo album since North Marine Drive, and while it recaptures a similar vibe of minimal, soulfully jazzy folk, it also leaves room for the majestic, almost Big Star-like ballad."
"A lot of the songs are about resilence and hope in dark places," says Ben. "I wanted to write one that begins in an optimistic place. 'Spring' is about the belief that good can come after bad, that spring comes after winter. Life can be a long haul, but it can shine too."
Recently, Top40-Charts.com premiered the video for "Hendra," which you can view below:
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Recorded in London and Berlin, the music is a meeting of worlds: languid folk, distorted rock and buzzing electronics; in part a result of the album's two central collaborators, ex-Suede guitarist Bernard Butler, and Berlin-based producer Ewan Pearson.
The album also includes one other unexpected stellar cameo - Pink Floyd's
David Gilmour, who adds plangent slide guitar and backing vocals on "The Levels."
Also to be released this year is Watt's memoir "Romany and Tom", which will be published by Bloomsbury Press in North
America this June. The Financial Times called the book "a poignant, life-affirming work" while novelist John Niven said "Forget Morrissey: 'Romany and Tom' is the most beautiful, compelling memoir by a musician you'll read for a very long time."
Ben Watt and Bernard Butler will head to the U.S. this April for select dates in New York and Los Angeles. DJ-ing aside, these are Watt's first ever solo dates in the US.
US Tour Dates:
4/1: New York, NY - Joe's Pub
4/2: Brooklyn, NY - Rough Trade
4/4: Los Angeles, CA - The Echo
Track List:
1) Hendra
2) Forget
3) Spring
4) Golden Ratio
5) Matthew Arnold's Field
6) The Gun
7) Nathaniel
8) The Levels
9) Young Man's Game
10) The
Heart is a Mirror
Twitter: twitter.com/ben_watt
Facebook: www.facebook.com/benwattmusic
Website: benwatt.com
