Pre-order Ed Harcourt's new single: ‘In My Time of Dust’ http://itun.es/i6642XC (released 19th May 2014 via CCCLX)

ED HARCOURT
New Single: In My Time of Dust
Released: 19th May 2014

Following the critical praise for his new mini-album, and the silver-disc awarded success of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s new album (which he produced and co-wrote), British songwriter Ed Harcourt confirms new single ‘Time of Dust’, which includes a brand new track ‘Sweet Malaise’ featuring Ren Harvieu (hear it http://youtu.be/O0-PDxCBego​ ).  

‘Time of Dust’ is the title track of Harcourt’s 28-minute long mini-album which was released earlier this year on CCCLX (the new label set-up by Drowned in Sound’s editor). It was described by one scribe as “cinematic hip-hop”, by another as “post-grave” and the Guardian’s Alexis Petridis talked of the track’s “gothic grandeur”. Elsewhere, comparisons have veered from Eels to James Blake via Elbow and that Tom Waits chap.

Like the rest of the mini-album, there are still Ed’s trademark pianos and bitter-sweet lyrical twists, but a darkness has descended and the record marks the beginning of a slightly gloomier new sound. 

Thirteen years ago, Harcourt’s career began with a mini-album named Maplewood, “Time of Dust feels not unlike its distant cousin” says Ed. “I’ll soon be heading into the studio with Flood (Nine Inch Nails, PJ Harvey, etc) to work on an album of evil songs, but before I set sail for the edge of the world, I wanted to break people in gently. Think of Time of Dust as a piece of the map I’ll be using to navigate the fog and fire. Or maybe it’s the creak of the floorboard before the wolf pounces?”

2013 was a busy year for Harcourt. From co-writing and producing a new album for Sophie Ellis-Bextor, to festival appearances at the likes of Glastonbury, Latitude, and a headline slot at End of the Road, his dog-eared diary has never seen so much action. Recently, Harcourt has also been musical director for Burberry’s London Fashion Week party and Beck’s Song Book at the Barbican, written songs with amongst others Kathryn Williams and Lisa Marie-Presley; composed soundtracks for three movies due in 2014, recorded collaborations with Rae & Christian and Nouvelle Vague’s Melanie Pain, and brewed his own beer (an ‘Edwardian Brown Ale’) with Signature Brew, which after the initial test run of 3000 bottles sold out, the production is being ramped up. 2013 also saw his sixth studio album, Back Into the Woods, released to much acclaim, and then there was that #WIZARDBOUNCE “album” which he gave away for April Fool’s Day...

Praise for Time of Dust:
"Alluring." - The Independent ****
"Sensational." - The Sunday Times
"Time of Dust is bleaker than his past work, marrying a dark heart with epic hooks and choruses like a darker Elbow." - The Guardian ****
"A masterly lurch to the dark side by the multi-talented maestro" - Uncut
"Brooding, theatrical elegance with a glitchy twist… A dusky delight." - NME
"Ornate romantic balladry… curls around the listener like tendrils of smoke." - FT
"As warm and dark as the real ale he brews." The Times ****
"Part-time brewer of dark ales, full-time composer of dark tales." - Scottish Daily Express
"A gorgeous noirish set of cinematic songs with a bittersweet emotional core." - Telegraph

http://edharcourt.com


In My Time Of Dust - Ed Harcourt

seaninsound