Albarn has shared three cryptic posts on his Instagram page, all concerning the new release.

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A post shared by Damon Albarn (@damonalbarn)

The upcoming album’s title track ‘The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows’ has already been released as a single, and has been received well by the artist’s fans. Albarn also treated fans to a sneak peek of his new material at last months ‘Glastonbury’s Live At Worthy Farm Livestream’. The livestream’s highlights were made available to watch on the BBC iPlayer from 24^th June 2021.

The album will be released in many formats, available on CD, cassette and as a limited-edition colour vinyl. Collectable forms of the album will also be released including a deluxe option and a clear vinyl, partnered with a hardcover book complete with photographs, artwork, original lyrics and a digital file. Along with the many exclusive additions, this special edition will also include a bonus 7’’ which features music from the album’s recording sessions.

The singer’s new material reflects a peaceful somewhat euphoric state, an obvious circumstance of the album’s influence. Albarn took inspiration from the picturesque and serene landscapes of Iceland whilst writing his new music, which he began in 2019. The project embodies the phrase ‘poetry in motion’, the title is taken from a poem by the 19th-century poet John Clare, titled ‘Love and Memory’. The project was originally meant solely to be an orchestral scored piece, but the current climate affected the music’s form. The musician had some time during lockdown to revisit his work and eventually decided that the piece should be reimagined and spread out over eleven tracks.

The ‘Parklife’ singer has spoken to NME concerning the creative spark in which Iceland had ignited in his music.

“[Iceland] is a nice place to meditate on the elements and particles, I’d been dreaming on making music while looking out of that window, when my friend from the Lyon Festival offered me the very tempting proposition of ‘You can do whatever you want’. I had immediately had something that I never thought would be feasible, so I organised musicians, string players, three bass trombones, some percussion and keyboards into an interesting arrangement.”

Albarn then continued to further describe his creative process.

“I took some of these real-time, extreme elemental experiences [of Iceland] and then tried to develop more formal pop songs with that as my source. I wanted to see where that would take me. Sometimes it took me down to Uruguay and Montevideo. Other times I went to Iran, Iceland or Devon. With travel being curtailed, it was kind of nice to be able to make a record that put me strangely in those places for a moment or two.”

Albarn’s new album will see the singer follow up on his solo debut album ‘Everyday Robots‘, which was released on 25th April 2014. This was not the singer’s initial album without a band, in 2012 Albarn joined forces with Rufus Norris to create the opera ‘Dr Dee’, released as a soundtrack on 7th May 2012. The Opera was first premiered as a performance, held at the Palace Theatre in Manchester in July 2011.

Throughout the singer’s decades-long career, Albarn has proofed that he can achieve many goals musically. From fronting Blur, the Britpop band who went head-to-head during the 90’s with Oasis to forming Gorillaz, the animated band who have been releasing hits since 1998. Albarn is also famed for being part of two supergroups, the Good, the Bad & the Queen, formed with members from The Clash, The Verve and Fela Kuti and Rocket Juice & the Moon with bassist Flea and Tony Allen. The artist has even expanded his talent further, as seen in his operatic compositions and work within cinematic soundtracks. With such talent and experience it is no wonder that music fans are expecting great things from Albarn this November.

Trosset told Agence France-Presse he had spoken with Allen only a few hours before he fell suddenly ill and was admitted into the Pompidou Hospital in Paris, where he later passed away having suffered from an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Trosset confirmed the cause of death was not linked to the coronavirus.

Among the many musical legacies Allen leaves behind, his most famous is as the drummer and musical director for Africa ’70, a collective of Nigerian musicians spearheaded by bandleader Fela Kuti. Born in Lagos in 1940, Allen taught himself to play the drums when he was 18 by listening to the jazz records of Art Blakely and Max Roach. After performing for several bands, Allen was invited to join Fela’s group Koola Lobitos in 1964, which would later be renamed Africa ’70. Over the next fifteen years, the two would go on to record over thirty albums together that pioneered ‘afrobeat’, a music genre fusing the Yoruba rhythms of West African Jùjú with American jazz and funk.

REST IN POWER AND JOURNEY WELL ANCESTOR TONY ALLEN pic.twitter.com/4fYxgsdwrO

— Seun Anikulapo Kuti (@RealSeunKuti) May 1, 2020

Afrobeat is often mistakenly credited with being Fela’s sole creation, though in truth it was Allen’s incorporation American and African drumming techniques – coupled with an uncanny ability to play in several time signatures at once – that proved a defining aspect of the genre’s sound. As Fela himself once said “without Tony Allen, there would be no afrobeat”. Following Allen’s departure from the band in 1979 owing to disputes over royalties, Africa ’70 lost its vitality, releasing only two more albums. Before dissolving the group entirely, Fela had hired four separate drummers to try to fill the void Allen had left behind.  

 

 

 

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The epic Tony Allen, one of the greatest drummers to ever walk this earth has left us. What a wildman, with a massive, kind and free heart and the deepest one-of-a-kind groove. Fela Kuti did not invent afrobeat, Fela and Tony birthed it together. Without Tony Allen there is NO afrobeat. I was lucky enough to spend many an hour with him, holed up in a London studio, jamming the days away. It was fucking heavenly. He was and still is, my hero. I wanted to honor his greatness so much when we played together, and I was nervous when we started, but he made me laugh like a two year old, and we fell right into pocket. I lit up like a Christmas tree every time I knew we were about to lay down some rhythm. With Tony’s longtime musical collaborator, friend and champion, Damon Albarn, we jammed til the cows came home. We partied in Nigeria, we partied around Europe, and it was always about the music. Just grooving high, grooving deep. Tony Allen I love you, I’m so grateful to have had the chance to rock with you. God bless your beautiful soul. A post shared by Flea (@flea333) on Apr 30, 2020 at 5:06pm PDT

Despite Fela garnering attention for his uncompromising approach to recording and notable anti-authoritarian dissidence, Allen was widely considered an icon in his own right both at home and abroad. His polyphonic rhythms caught the attention of Brian Eno, who used Allen’s playstyle as a template for the production on Talking Heads’ Remain In Light. Allen was, in Eno’s words, “perhaps the greatest drummer who has ever lived”, a sentiment echoed in a tribute posted today by Red Hot Chili Peppers’ bassist Flea.  

Flea and Allen were both members of the supergroup Rocket Juice & The Moon, along with frequent collaborator Damon Albarn. After Albarn, a lifelong fan of the drummer, sang “Tony Allen really got me dancing” on the Blur song “Music Is My Radar” in 2000, the two sparked a friendship, later forming The Good, The Bad & The Queen with The Clash’s Paul Simonon and The Verve’s Simon Tong. The group released their self-titled debut in 2007 to critical acclaim, and reunited for its follow-up Merrie Land a decade later. Watch this video from May 2019 of their performance at Le Trianon, Paris in support of the album’s tour:

Joining the trio of stellar names above, which includes Rosalia, Jacob Banks and Nao, is The Internet; Sons of Kemet; Doves; The Good, The Bad & The Queen; Parcels; Cut Copy; Soulection; and Gossip, with more still to be announced. The performance of Gossip, at this year’s Somerset House Summer Sessions, will be the band’s first live show in six years.

We’re super excited to announce our line-up for #SummerSeriesGigs 2019 with @AmexUK today. Join us from 11 – 21 Jul for an intimate live experience unlike any other in the stunning surroundings of our neoclassical courtyard.

Tkts on public sale Fri 22 Mar 10.00 via our website. pic.twitter.com/doVGYNVzBX

— Somerset House (@SomersetHouse) March 19, 2019

Opening the event, on the grounds of Somerset House, the classic 18th century building that sits on the bank of the Thames, will be multi-genre group The Internet, on the 11th of July 2019, which will be their last stop on their world tour. They’ll be joined, on the opening weekend, by BRIT and MOBO-nominated soul star NAO, on the 12th of July 2019.

Following on from, soul star Nao’s performance, will be followed by performances by Sons of Kemet, on the 13th of July. With Jacob Banks, who is returning as a headline act after his support slot in 2013, set to perform, on the 14th of July 2019.

Taking place in the heart of the nation’s capital, the outdoor event, held in the Courtyard of Somerset House, offer unique panoramic views of the capitol as the backdrop for some amazing music. The festival is used to having some of today’s biggest names perform, with the likes of Adele, Paloma Faith, Calvin Harris, Sam Smith, PJ Harvey, and many more collaborating with the festival.

Somerset House Summer Sessions 2019 Line-Up:

Thursday July 11 – The Internet
Friday July 12 – Nao
Saturday July 13 – Sons of Kemet
Sunday July 14 – Jacob Banks
Monday July 15 – Rosalia
Tuesday July 16 – Doves
Wednesday July 17 – The Good, The band & The Queen
Thursday July 18 – Parcels
Friday July 19 – Cut Copy
Saturday July 20 – Soulection
Sunday July 21 – Gossip