Ben Howard shares ‘Couldn’t Make It Up’ and announces new album
Mercury-nominated singer-songwriter Ben Howard has announced details of his new album Is It? and shared the lead single, ‘Couldn’t Make It Up’.
The emotional new track has been produced by Bullion, who also worked in the same role on Orlando Weeks’ Hop Up. Howard’s fifth album, including ‘Couldn’t Make It Up’, is influenced by Howard suffering two TIAs (transient ischemic attacks), also known as mini-strokes, in his garden last year. During these two harrowing experiences, he was left unable to speak clearly and think coherently.
“It was out of the blue,” Howard said of the incidents in a press release. He added: “It was a confusing time. I found it impossible not to dwell on the absurdity of it, that with one tiny clot, one can lose all faculties. It really ate into the writing of the record.”
Is It? is due to be released on June 16th through Island Records and was recorded last summer in a ten-day period at the Le Manoir de Léon studios in the South of France.
This summer, Howard is embarking on an extensive European tour which begins in Madrid on May 18th and concludes with a headline show at Cardiff Castle on July 23rd. He will also be performing at London’s Royal Albert Hall and Alexandra Palace Park. Festival dates include Rock Werchter, Boardmasters, and Down the Rabbit Hole.
Listen to ‘Couldn’t Make It Up’ below.
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