The current lockdown (now we can say this as an international phenomenon, being in place in so many countries) has had a lot of repercussions for artists across the board. For musicians, who have not been able to tour and have thus not been putting their time and energy towards such activity, one of the positive outcomes has been ample head-room, so to speak, for developing and recording new material. While, for others, writing has been really difficult due to lockdown-related depression, Brighton-based singer-songwriter Nick Hudson has been very active, with an upcoming solo album and two more (though other projects) to be released later in the year.
The last we heard of Hudson was his latest (mind you, BRILLIANT) album ‘The Quiet Earth’ as frontman and songwriter for The Academy of Sun approximately a year ago. Oh yes, and his involvement in Wayne Hussey & The Divine. Now he’s back to announce his forthcoming ‘Font Of Human Fractures’ album, to be released in spring. Today we have the pleasure of premiering ‘There is No Such Thing as You’ (live in Sophia)’, the studio recording of which will feature on the new album. Praised by the likes of Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite and Julian Cope, Nick Hudson’s music is a welcome earworm for any music aficionado and especially those with a taste for highly melodic and cutting-edge pop experimentalism.
This new 10-track offering is Hudson’s first solo studio album release since‘Ganymede In A State Of War’ (2016). Recorded and mastered at Church Road Studios by Paul Pascoe (Barry Adamson, Beat Hotel), these are neo-classical torch songs, banishing rituals and searing ballads, scored for piano and two violins, underlined with gothic electronica, with dramatic cameos and curveballs. Musically, Hudson is influenced by Coil, Kate Bush, Laibach, Danny Elfman, Nico and Scott Walker.
The new solo release, scored almost entirely for piano and two violins, is a ruminative melting pot from the point of view of a queer man in his late thirties. It is like a dialogue with his younger self, negotiating himself free of toxic programming and banishing the inhibitions that can blight, dull and impotize the best of us.
Nick Hudson is a prolific figure on the UK underground music scene and is perhaps best known as frontman of art-rock band The Academy Of Sun, who released their dystopian epic ‘The Quiet Earth’ last year to critical acclaim. Apart from music, Nick’s vast output also encompasses painting, film, and he has just completed his first novel.
Hudson has also collaborated with Wayne Hussey (The Mission) and Matthew Seligman (Bowie, Tori Amos, Morrissey), as well as members of NYC’s Kayo Dot, David Tibet (Current 93), Asva and Canadian queercore icon GB Jones. As The Academy Of Sun, he has also collaborated with Massive Attack’s Shara Nelson. Having toured 3 continents, highlights include appearances with Mogwai, Toby Driver and Keith Abrams of Kayo Dot, and Timba Harris (Mr Bungle, Amanda Palmer).
‘Font Of Human Fractures’ is a kaleidoscopic and emotionally transparent document of the search for self-worth – and ultimately love – in a thorny, unevenly-stacked world. On April 30, this record will be released on vinyl and also digitally everywhere, including Bandcamp and Spotify. Already on February 24, the first single should be revealed.
Stalk and support Nick Hudson / The Academy of Sun
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