Please note new street date: August 29 - RECORD STORE DAY DROP. “Early in 2016 Ali Chant texted me, asking if I still wanted to record some stuff at his studio - as property developers were about to knock it down. Another creative space bulldozed away for capital gain. Politically it was a shit year. The noise building for the Brexit referendum that would fuck with the future of the young was in full swing. Bowie died, and on the morning of the first recordings I had the worst migraine. I left the building and threw up in the street. I wanted to commit to the lyrics and sing live so I think I was stressed about getting them ready to sing. I had a batch of songs I wanted to record but I didn’t have a record label or any plans of what to do with them. I gathered incredible musicians from my square mile in Cardiff in the van and drove to Bristol. Kliph on drums, Steve on bass and Osian on piano. I sang and played guitar - We recorded live takes for 3 days then I sat on the songs for almost 2 years. Eventually handing them to composer Stephen McNeff to work on orchestral arrangements. I called the album that was mixed by Samur Kouja; Babelsberg - and I’m very happy with it. This album meanwhile is an exploration of how it came to be - and the songs in their raw state. A companion piece rather than the definitive article. Most tracks are similar to the final work except for Selfies in The Sunset which is pre-duet and much longer. I’m very grateful to Lisa Jen and Mirain Haf from the band 9 Bach for singing the background vocals. Kliph for overseeing this project, Rough Trade for their enthusiasm and thanks to the designers; thanks Uno Moralez for agreeing to have his incredible Babelsberg sleeve illustration carved up, and ace designer Mark James for this final article. Further thanks to Ali, Steve, Osian and also to Robin Turner for lending his ear at the time.” - Gruff
May 21 street date. Gruff Rhys is releasing his seventh solo album, "Seeking New Gods", recorded following a US tour with his band and mixed in LA with superstar producer Mario C (Beastie Boys). The album concept was originally driven to be the biography of a mountain, Mount Paektu (an East Asian active volcano). However, as Gruff's writing began to reflect on the inhuman timescale of a peak's existence and the intimate features that bring it to mythological life, both the songs and the mountain became more and more personal.
May 21 street date. Gruff Rhys is releasing his seventh solo album, "Seeking New Gods", recorded following a US tour with his band and mixed in LA with superstar producer Mario C (Beastie Boys). The album concept was originally driven to be the biography of a mountain, Mount Paektu (an East Asian active volcano). However, as Gruff's writing began to reflect on the inhuman timescale of a peak's existence and the intimate features that bring it to mythological life, both the songs and the mountain became more and more personal.
January 26 street date. Gruff Rhys presents his new album "Sadness Sets Me Free" via Rough Trade Records. The 10 track follow up to 2021's "Seeking New Gods" (his first UK top 10 solo record) is incredibly the 25th album he has released in his 35 year career individually, collaboratively, and as a member of various bands. In La Frette Studios, a recording facility installed in a 19th-century house on the outskirts of Paris, Gruff and his road-hardened group tracked "Sadness Sets Me Free" in just three days. Additional strings, orchestration, and backing vocals from Kate Stables (This Is The Kit) were added along the way, before the record was mixed in Marseille and Cardiff. What finally emerged from these intense bouts of cross-continental activity was Gruff Rhys' most accomplished and beautiful record to date. One of Britain's most beloved and successful singer-songwriters, he has always been willing to follow an opportunity, wherever it may lead him.
January 26 street date. Gruff Rhys presents his new album "Sadness Sets Me Free" via Rough Trade Records. The 10 track follow up to 2021's "Seeking New Gods" (his first UK top 10 solo record) is incredibly the 25th album he has released in his 35 year career individually, collaboratively, and as a member of various bands. In La Frette Studios, a recording facility installed in a 19th-century house on the outskirts of Paris, Gruff and his road-hardened group tracked "Sadness Sets Me Free" in just three days. Additional strings, orchestration, and backing vocals from Kate Stables (This Is The Kit) were added along the way, before the record was mixed in Marseille and Cardiff. What finally emerged from these intense bouts of cross-continental activity was Gruff Rhys' most accomplished and beautiful record to date. One of Britain's most beloved and successful singer-songwriters, he has always been willing to follow an opportunity, wherever it may lead him.
January 26 street date. Gruff Rhys presents his new album "Sadness Sets Me Free" via Rough Trade Records. The 10 track follow up to 2021's "Seeking New Gods" (his first UK top 10 solo record) is incredibly the 25th album he has released in his 35 year career individually, collaboratively, and as a member of various bands. In La Frette Studios, a recording facility installed in a 19th-century house on the outskirts of Paris, Gruff and his road-hardened group tracked "Sadness Sets Me Free" in just three days. Additional strings, orchestration, and backing vocals from Kate Stables (This Is The Kit) were added along the way, before the record was mixed in Marseille and Cardiff. What finally emerged from these intense bouts of cross-continental activity was Gruff Rhys' most accomplished and beautiful record to date. One of Britain's most beloved and successful singer-songwriters, he has always been willing to follow an opportunity, wherever it may lead him.
|
Full Catalogue Search 
