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The new project is led by Bastille frontman, Dan Smith, and is described as a collection of songs that tell a story and intertwine the lives and wide worlds of startling women and men. It tells the story of various characters including poets, artists, scientists and characters from religion. The album is said to be fed by new collaborations, dazzling arrangements and a spirit of musical spirit that is hoping to open minds. Listen to Smith talking about the album below.

The album will be released in four parts leading up to the full release of ‘&’ in October. The first part of the project is out now and includes four tracks that introduce the record. The first track is ‘Intros and Narrators’ which sees Smith play fingerpicked guitar and “sets out the mission and tone” for the album. The next track, ‘Eve and Paradise Lost’, explores themes of blame and shame that women are made to feel “from the dawn of time.” ‘Seasons & Narcissus is described as “a curious, twisted love song between someone and their own reflection.” And the last track of part one, ‘Emily & Her Penthouse In The Sky’, is about the life of 19th-century poet Emily Dickinson and how her life has been framed.

The album is supposed to uncover the stories of people who have been misunderstood in myth, culture, and society, telling the stories of individuals who have been neglected by mainstream society. There is also a song that is inspired by Smith’s family, exploring the idea of how music is passed on through generations by showing how Smith is connected to his father’s poetry and his mother’s singing.

‘&’ (Ampersand) is described as “a collection of songs about looking out at the world, disappearing into other lives rather than into ourselves, and about the humanity that can crackle and shimmer as a consequence.”#

Fans can pre-order the group’s upcoming project from their official store. You can order the album in Vinyl and CD including different coloured vinyls as well as vinyl copies with hand printed ‘&’ collector’s artwork. There are also CD and Vinyl copies available which come with a signed art card.

The full track list and artwork for ‘&’ (Ampersand) is below:

Intros & Narrators
Eve & Paradise Lost
Emily & Her Penthouse In The Sky
Blue Sky & The Painter
Leonard & Marianne
Marie & Polonium
Red Wine & Wilde
Seasons & Narcissus
Drawbridge & The Baroness
The Soprano & Her Midnight Wonderings
Essie & Paul
Mademoiselle & The Nunnery Blaze
Zheng Yi Sao & Questions For Her
Telegraph Road 1977 & 2024

The new version was released to mark the 10 year anniversary of their single “Pompeii,” taken from their debut album, Bad Blood. The track reached Number 2 in the UK Charts back in 2013 and is currently included in the Top 50 most streamed songs of all time in the UK.

The orchestral rendition of the track is titled “Pompeii MMXXIII.” Listen below.

Speaking on the collaboration with Hans Zimmer, Bastille frontman Dan Smith said, “Having the opportunity to work with the living legend that is Hans Zimmer, and his brilliant team, has been an absolute dream. Working with them on this new version of ‘Pompeii’ has been incredible and has put the biggest smiles on our faces throughout the whole wonderfully surreal experience.”

Smith had already been working with Hans Zimmer on other projects, with this being how this alternative version of “Pompeii” came to be created.

Hans Zimmer shared his thoughts on the track, saying, “It’s been proven time and time again that a beautiful, crafted song by a great band can have many lives and ‘Pompeii’ is a shining example of this.”

Zimmer continued, “Working hand in hand with Bastille and my team at Bleeding Fingers has been an exhilarating experience and an honour to be part of this remarkable journey. I’m so excited to share this rendition with you all!”

BASTILLE and HANS ZIMMER – POMPEII MMXXIII – OUT NOWhttps://t.co/roMzTG4JGR@HansZimmer pic.twitter.com/dtrmTVBgj5

— BASTILLE (@bastille) September 1, 2023

Bastille are currently touring the US to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of Bad Blood. Their UK tour dates ended in July, with a commemorative double album version of Bad Blood also being released in July too.

The special edition reissue includes previously unheard demos, covers and live performances. The reissue is titled Bad Blood X (10th Anniversary Edition) and is available for purchase here.

In a press statement, frontman Dan Smith said, “When I started working on the songs that became ‘Bad Blood’ 10 years ago at a laptop in my bedroom, I never imagined that they’d be heard by so many people and then take us all over the world – it’s really mad to think about.”

He continued, “Ten years on, we wanted to put something special together to celebrate the album, whilst not messing with it too much. We had so much fun digging back through old artwork, photos and videos from that time to make a totally new package of artworks. My Dad even found an old CD-R of some of demos in the attic (that somehow people managed to pry out of my hands for a new 7” vinyl as part of this release – trust me… I didn’t think those versions would ever get heard).”

Speaking on the reissue, Smith concluded, “Putting all this together was such a nice way to step back into that world for a moment, and we really hope our fans feel the same way.”

Stream Bad Blood X (10th Anniversary Edition) here.

The music video for “No Bad Days”, which was co-directed with Trash Factory, includes references to sci-fi films such as Metropolis, Ex Machina and The Matrix. The clip is set in a laboratory, and portrays Smith himself playing a character who uses technology to try and bring a loved one back from the dead.

In an interview in the Bizzare column of The Sun Smith said of the music video “It’s really satisfying to have finally directed, and I’m really proud of the little film we made, I learned a shitload and it was good to be challenged in a new way.” You can view the video below.

In the same interview with The Sun, Smith said: “There’s a bunch of stuff I’m working on at the moment which uses music but very much step into the film and TV world. It’s what I grew up obsessed with. I was such a little film geek growing up and it’s a medium I love, so getting to direct [the ‘No Bad Days’] video was really amazing. I always wanted to do it but we’ve always been trying to juggle everything.”

Smith described his new artistic endeavour as “really eye-opening It took me having a little more time and space because of there being no touring, for me to be like, ‘I’ve got to do this now. I want to do it now’.”

The singer then went on to state that he hopes to continue his ventures in film and televsion, explaining: “I would love to work more in that world and I think we live in a time when people are less boxed in.”

The single for which Smith created the music video will also feature on the band’s forthcoming album Give Me The Future. The album follows on from 2019’s Doom Days and has been described as “a tribute to humanity in a tech age and reflects on the strangeness of living through times that can feel like science fiction”.

Bastille are also set to showcase their latest material during an intimate show at London’s Earth Theatre on February 2nd. The special performance is being held as part of the BRITs Week 2022 gig series in aid of theWar Child charity.

Smith has been the latest voice from the music scene who has used his online platforms to raise awareness about racism, following the horrific incident of George Floyd who was killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The 33-year-old musician wrote:

“Powerful and moving protest in London today. An opportunity to listen and reflect. In this moment and going forward it’s so important to support, listen, sign petitions, donate, write to our MPs or local politicians and contribute in whatever ways we can to demand change. #LdnBlm” See the images from the protest below.

Powerful and moving protest in London today. An opportunity to listen and reflect. In this moment and going forward it’s so important to support, listen, sign petitions, donate, write to our MPs or local politicians and contribute in whatever ways we can to demand change. #LdnBlm pic.twitter.com/E8fCP8lHtx

— BASTILLE (@bastilledan) June 3, 2020

In addition to the shots taken from the demonstration, the lead singer also shared a short video on his Instagram. The clip saw a host of young bloods rallying for a better cause. Check it out from the post below.

 

 

 

ดูโพสต์นี้บน Instagram

 

Powerful and moving protest in London today. An opportunity to listen and reflect. In this moment and going forward it’s so important to support, keep listening, sign petitions, donate, write to our MPs or local politicians and contribute in whatever ways we can to demand change. #LdnBlm #BlackLivesMatter โพสต์ที่แชร์โดย B△STILLE (@bastilledan) เมื่อ มิ.ย. 3, 2020 เวลา 10:13am PDT

Elsewhere, Smith has launched a quarantine series entitled ‘Distraction Tactics‘ to help fans get out of boredom during the lockdown. The series features the artist alongside occasional appearances from his bandmates doing covers and taking about music and movies.

However, due to the rise in the racial awareness and the current online protest Blackout Tuesday, the artist has decided to pause the series in an honour to the situation at the moment. “This doesn’t feel a the time for “distraction tactics”, but a time for engagement and action,” wrote Smith about the halt on his online series.

Instead, he has shared great recommendations of books, films, podcasts, and articles that tackle the topic of racism. Among the list appear Robin Diangelo’s ‘White Fragility‘, Ibram X. Kendi’s ‘How to Be an Antiracist‘, Netflix’s ‘When They See Us‘, and many more. See the complete post below.

ดูโพสต์นี้บน Instagram

⁣ ⁣This doesn’t feel like a time for “distraction tactics”, but a time for engagement and action.⁣ ⁣ ⁣Here are some of the books, films and podcasts that we’ve found useful and sobering, so we wanted to share (links to everything in Stories).⁣ ⁣ ⁣There are also some examples of the ways you can engage and take action to help.⁣ ⁣ ⁣There are so many more brilliant podcasts, articles, books and films that add to the conversation and we’d love any recommendations you may have. #blacklivesmatter

โพสต์ที่แชร์โดย B△STILLE (@bastilledan) เมื่อ มิ.ย. 3, 2020 เวลา 1:25pm PDT