The other morning I was unceremoniously and simultaneously awoken by screaming children, the pigeons outside in the trees, the banging and stuttering of radiators that need bleeding, my cat repeatedly attempting to sit on my chest like some Fuseli gargoyle & the realization that I have an upcoming tour. I threw on my finest kimono, made some malevolent coffee and decided to ignore the fact I have an upcoming tour. Well now the nervous tremors have ceased and I can only divulge with all you fine ladies & germs that by sweet Odin’s raven I am most verily excited to visit your home towns and lay waste to your hearts! What can you expect on this perilous expedition I hear you ask? Well to start off with there is the exquisite and mysterious Catherine A.D. who will make the hairiest of men weep and the fairest of madames fume with reticent admiration, she must not be missed so make sure you get there in time or I’ll set the bears and wolves on you. I shall be bringing a small circus of instruments as is to be expected and depending on the roll of the dice we shall see what happens. There certainly won’t be any broken records. Anything could really happen.
Apart from setting myself on fire. Again.
Thanks for reading.
Bye. EH X
p.s. the above poster, unique to each date, designed by Tim Watkins, will be on sale at each show.
Mr Harcourt has collaborated with the good people at Signature Brew to create Dark Heart, his very own Brown Ale. Ed says:
“Beer has always been there for me. Like an errant lover it has run out on me countless times yet it still keeps coming back. It’s pull is it’s punch you see. Whether it’s that Bombardier on the rug by the fire that I just made myself with my own manly hands or the Michelada in my local mexican restaurant that weakens the hellish grasp of the night before, it’s an old friend that can be used as a crutch or indeed the oil within the social machine. I’ve been very honoured to design my own beer and I can’t wait for you to all try this deep, dark ale that was forged in the caves of south London. All Hail Dark Heart!”
May
Sat 4th LONDON, Bull & Gate closing party (Sold Out)*
Fri 17th BRIGHTON, Great Escape Festival (9:45pm, St Mary’s Church)**
Wed 29th BRISTOL, Colston Hall 2 (Tickets)
Thu 30th LONDON, Cadogan Hall (Tickets)
Fri 31st WOLVERHAMPTON, Slade Rooms (Tickets)
June
Sun 2nd HEBDEN BRIDGE, Trades Club (Tickets)
Mon 3rd MANCHESTER, St Philip’s Salford (Tickets)
Tue 4th SHEFFIELD, Library Theatre (Tickets)
Thu 6th LEEDS, Holy Trinity (Tickets)
Fri 7th LIVERPOOL, Scandinavian Church (Sold Out)
Sun 9th GATESHEAD/NEWCASTLE, Sage 2 (Tickets)
Mon 10th YORK, NCEM (Tickets)
Tue 11th NORWICH, Arts Centre (Tickets)
Thurs 27th MILTON KEYNES Stables (Tickets)
Sat 29th Glastonbury Festival
* = support from Melanie Pain + Ultrasound
** = support from Wall and Martin Rossiter
Support on all non-festival dates from Catherine A.D unless otherwise stated.
Augustus Kwembe calling
The Wizard Is Bouncing
Werner Was Here And Now He’s Left
The Camel’s Back
Visions Of Phantoms
Dogs Of Death Thy Name Is Delirium
I Don’t Sleep
Spanish Bullfight
Pure Imagination
Witch-Hunt
Anti Dream
Death Of A Madman
Monkey Tapping On The Window
She’s A Masterpiece
Sell Your Friends
The Middle Of The Mixtape
A Man Without A Moustache
Bomb Bomb Bomb Polica - Dark Star (Baron Von Harcourt Remix)
Ubjuk
Friends In Higher Places
31 Days
Moreau
Gonna Haunt You When You’re Dead
The Wizard Has Bounced
Sorry I lied.
Sorry I betrayed you.
I never meant to hurt you (…never meant to! make! you! cry!)
In case you didn’t check the date on Monday and if the opening Facejacker voicemail, the thumping trance, the psycho-psychedelia or that Herzog dialogue or the talk of midgets and mustachios didn’t give it away… I am sorry. Sorry that I treated you like a fool. An April fool. Most of you cottoned-on, but in case you’re one of those people hassling my manager to buy a copy on vinyl, let me be clear: Wizard Bounce is NOT my seventh album, it was a (somewhat elaborate) hoax. If you missed the free mixtape on Monday, CLICK HERE quick-sharp as it will only be up for a short while.
Of course, I wrote all of these tracks, excluding that one from Willy Wonka, and the remix toward the end of Polica’s ‘Dark Star’. Most of them have been sitting on my hard drive for years. A few are from my tascam cassette 4 track. Some were written and sent to friends to cheer them up. Some were written in a heady haze of hysteria. Others I have no recollection from whence they came… ‘Thy Name Is Delirium’ is perhaps the odd one out on this Weeknd/Paul Banks/Lil’ Wayne-inspired mixtape odyssey, because it was actually recorded at Abbey Road when I was recording Back Into the Woods. This track is an ode to the wonders of imbibing and its cataTONIC effects but it didn’t quite fit amongst the serious pigeons on the album, but it helped lift the spirits in the studio. If you’d like to add it to your copy of BITW, you can download it for zero pence over here for a limited time. Think of it as the b-side to ‘Hey Little Bruiser’, which came out this week as a single, insomuch as anything is released ‘digitally’ these days, but there is a fantastic video for the track which my good friends the Contented Brothers put together, which you can see here:
So if Wizard Bounce isn’t my 7th album, what is? Well, it’s in the works, and I’m hoping to enter the studio later in the year to finish it…it is going to be quite a guest heavy record & as dark as an evil monkey in a lonely well. In the meantime, between fatherhood and friendships, all of this is happening or has happened:
- I’m touring England’s finest churches and concert halls at the end of May and start of June (and I hope to get around the rest of the world, just as soon as the dates are booked)
- I’m playing some UK festivals this summer. The ones that have already been announced are Glastonbury, Latitude and Brighton’s Great Escape.
- There is an Ed Harcourt beer (yes, BEER!!!) coming soon, but I’ll tell you more about that in a week or so. What should I call it?! (feel free to tweet with #beerintothewoods or share your ideas on Facebook)
- Producing other people’s records is keeping me busy and my cat fat. I’m currently producing Sophie Ellis Bexter’s new album, which we’ve written together. It is very different, no disco just beautiful chansons and Eastern European waltzes. I’ve also been working on something with my brother-in-law Carl Barat, as well as these lovely & talented ladies & gents: Kathryn Williams, Hannah Clark from Foe, Jamie N Commons, Sam Smith & also Catherine A.D. who’s coming out on tour with me in May-June… oh and how could I forget Laura Jansen whose new album came out last week.
- There may be a couple of film scores in the pipeline too, watch <—this—> space!
- I have been (re)composing some remixes… you can find the Polica remix over on my Twitter (@edharcourt) and keep an ear out for one I did for my dear friend Leo Abrahams.
- Oh and I had a track on the new Rogue’s Gallery album, which is out now on Anti-. It was produced by Hal Willner, executive produced by Johnny Depp and Gore Verbinski. It’s a two-disc compilation of sea shanties featuring Tom Waits, Keith Richards, Iggy Pop, Nick Cave, Patti Smith, Sean Lennon and many, many, many more.
Upcoming Live dates
May
Thurs 16th-18th BRIGHTON, Great Escape Festival
Wed 29th BRISTOL, Colston Hall 2
Thu 30th LONDON, Cadogan Hall
Fri 31st WOLVERHAMPTON, Slade Rooms
June
Sun 2nd HEBDEN BRIDGE, Trades Club
Mon 3rd MANCHESTER, St Philip’s Salford
Tue 4th SHEFFIELD, Library Theatre
Thu 6th LEEDS, Holy Trinity
Fri 7th LIVERPOOL, Scandinavian Church
Sun 9th NEWCASTLE, Gateshead Sage 2
Mon 10th YORK, NCEM
Tue 11th NORWICH, Arts Centre
June 28th-30th GLASTONBURY Festival
‘Thy Name is Delirium’ is sort of an off-cut from the Back Into the Woods (Out Now) recording session. This ode to drinking is also sort of the b-side to ‘Hey Little Bruiser’, which you can now watch here:
Forthcoming shows include Glastonbury and Latitude festivals, plus these gigs in some of England’s finest concert halls and churches:
May
Thurs 16th-18th BRIGHTON, Great Escape Festival
Wed 29th BRISTOL, Colston Hall 2
Thu 30th LONDON, Cadogan Hall
Fri 31st WOLVERHAMPTON, Slade Rooms
June
Sun 2nd HEBDEN BRIDGE, Trades Club
Mon 3rd MANCHESTER, St Philip’s Salford
Tue 4th SHEFFIELD, Library Theatre
Thu 6th LEEDS, Holy Trinity
Fri 7th LIVERPOOL, Scandinavian Church
Sun 9th NEWCASTLE, Gateshead Sage 2
Mon 10th YORK, NCEM
Tue 11th NORWICH, Arts Centre
Praise for Back Into the Woods (out now on CCCLX music)
“…one of the most beautiful, heart-breakingly tender albums of the last year, if not decade, if not ever.” - Clash
“…may be his best release to date.” - The Sunday Times
“…elegant 6th album from underrated national treasure.” - Uncut
“…nine gorgeous songs that sit beautifully together.” - The Quietus
“…reflecting wistfully on William Blake and Mozart’s commercial failure…. moments of deft, delicate brilliance here to remind us of what a gifted songwriter he is…. Recorded in one night at Abbey Road…. like being in the front row of an exceptionally cosy concert…. Harcourt’s lovely oaken voice rustles and creaks as if he’s singing directly into the listener’s ear, while the piano chords seem to tremble through your skin…. breathtaking…. a subtle and seductive delight.” - BBC
“…Harcourt alone at the piano, delivering lushly romantic odes to “underdogs” and “the dreamers who pay no heed to good advice”. Lyrics casting him as a repentant roué saved by family life call for a grizzled Tom Waits groan; yet the singer’s gentler tones lend the songs a rousing, optimistic air.” - FT Weekend
Ed says: “The dam of change is leaking and I’ve cut off my thumbs. It is time to put a stop to all this mopey, floppy haired balladry & throw the piano overboard & man up. Wizard Bounce is my lucky 7th album and you are witnessing a well kindled rebirth, a sexy dissidence, a timely scream in the face of pompous boredom & meandering mewling. Let lightning strike and turn me into a rabid mangy badger who ambles through the labyrinth of whimsy, cursing & muttering about nothing & everything.
#WizardBounce is not a genre it is simply a state of mind. Wizard Bounce is a giant mushroom cloud in your soul, the unicorn that takes you to pleasure town. Wizard Bounce kidnaps the future & seduces the past, mocks space & time, changes the fate of idiots & embraces the deathly knell that is now. Come bounce with us until your hair is like a pointy hat.”
Check back on Monday morning to download the b-side ‘Thy Name is Delrium’ for free.
Taken from Ed Harcourt’s 6th album Back Into The Woods (Out Now).
CREDITS:
Lyrics, Music and Piano playing by Ed Harcourt
Cello by Arnulf Linder
Violin by Gita Harcourt
Produced by Pete Hutchings in Studio Two at Abbey Road
Directed, Edited and VFX: Birdie Hall
Production Company: Contented Brothers
Producer: Tom Hall
Camera Assistant: Kyri Evangelou
Production Manager: Jade Bryant
LYRICS
Hey little bruiser
In no time you’ll be filling my boots
You’re a cocksure rooster
Who keeps all his chickens in the coop
Well I gotta say the apple don’t fall too far from the tree
You got the good bits from your mother and the bad parts from me
Hey little bruiser
Are you Ferdinand in a bullfight?
Or a caveman on a computer
Destroying everything in sight
Well I gotta say that the apple don’t fall too far from the tree
You got the good bits from your mother and the bad parts from me
Let no man be your keeper
They hide secrets in their eyes
Where would we be without the dreamers
Who pay no heed to good advice
Hey little bruiser
You made it to the 12th round
You can stand as my accuser
If I let the good ship run aground
Well I gotta say the apple don’t fall too far from the tree
you got the good bits from you mother and the bad parts from me
Let no man be your keeper
They have secrets in their eyes
Where would we be without the dreamers
Who pay no heed to good advice
Let no man be your keeper
There are those who worship fear
What would we be without the dreamers
So when you wake up I am here.
