DAMON ALBARN shares new track ‘Royal Morning Blue’ – Listen Now

DAMON ALBARN shares new track 'Royal Morning Blue' - Listen Now
Photo Credit: Matt Cronin

Royal Morning Blue is out today. The latest track from Damon Albarn’s new solo album The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows was written and recorded in Iceland. Directly inspired by the view from Albarn’s position at the piano looking out over the sea, it captures the wonder of rain turning into snow before his eyes. 

Albarn said – “That’s why the song opens with ‘Rain turning into snow,’ because it’s that moment, that feeling. In all the darkness that we have experienced, that was such a beautiful, positive thing.”

To accompany the song’s release, a new special, cinematic film from a series entitled ‘Sublime Boulevards – Performance Films’ is available today on YouTube. Watch BELOW:

Also announced today, a limited edition CD format which will include a new 20-min piece Huldufólk written by Albarn and Einar Örn Benediktsson (The Sugarcubes).

Following two acclaimed festival shows in Manchester and Edinburgh this summer, as well as special guest appearances at Latitude and End of the Road, Albarn took to the stage for a very special one-off show at The Globe earlier this week, which was broadcast live to fans all over the world. Full tour itinerary below.

The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows is the new studio album from Damon Albarn, out 12th November 2021 on Transgressive Records. Originally intended as an orchestral piece inspired by the landscapes of Iceland, 2020 saw Albarn return to the music in lockdown and develop the work to 11 tracks that further explore themes of fragility, loss, emergence and rebirth. The result is a panoramic collection of songs with Albarn as a storyteller. The album title is taken from a John Clare poem Love and Memory.

In a career of perpetual musical shifts and exploration, the record uncovers 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.

The tracklisting for The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows is:

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
Alongside a digital release, there will be limited edition vinyl formats, plus CD and cassette, with the CD edition including ‘Huldufólk’ a 20-minute “hidden” track of a new and original recording that inspired some of the record’s themes. There will also be a super deluxe version of the album, taking the form of a casebound book with additional photography, original scanned lyrics and artwork from Damon, alongside a white vinyl version of the album, a high quality digital file and a bonus 7” featuring an exclusive song from the recording sessions.

2022 Tour Dates

21 & 22 February – London (Barbican)
23 & 24 February – Dublin (National Concert Hall)
26 February – Luxembourg (Philharmonie)
28 February – Brussels (Bozar)
1 March – Brussels (Bozar)
2 March – Eindhoven (Muziekgebouw)
4 & 5 March – Paris (Philharmonie)
6 March – Lyon (Auditorium)
7 March – Hamburg (ElbPhilharmonie)
9 March – Copenhagen (KB Hallen)
11 March – Reykjavik (Harpa)

Tickets and information here

Pre-order the album here.

Xsnoize Author
Mark Millar is the founder of XS Noize and looks after the daily running of the website as well as hosting interviews for the weekly XS Noize Podcast. Mark's favourite album is Achtung Baby by U2.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*