PJ Harvey returns after three years with haunting track ‘Voyager’
PJ Harvey has returned three years after her 2023 Grammy-nominated album with the haunting new track, ‘Voyager’.
The 56-year-old star has finally followed on from I Inside the Old Year Dying with the spacey single, which cinematically forges the path towards her next album.
Harvey was already working on the tune when physicist Professor Brian Cox invited her to write a song for his Emergence tour.
Recorded with a full orchestra at Miraval Studios in Provence, ‘Voyager’ takes its name from the NASA probes launched in 1977, which are still travelling through interstellar space almost five decades on.
Discussing the pensive, ethereal track, Harvey shared, “I was excited for the challenge to compose a song in the ‘voice’ of Voyager 2. I have long been fascinated by the spacecraft and its journey, and asked myself what it might say to us if it could? This was an inspiring route to take to develop the song.”
She added, “It’s wonderful to hear the orchestral score bring such expansiveness to my music. I thoroughly enjoyed researching the history and journey of Voyager 1 & 2, and was glad to be able to quote the great Carl Sagan within the song, and his famous description of our fragile and beautiful ‘pale blue dot’.”
As the icon explains, the song sees her investigate the perspective of the intergalactic space traveller, singing, “last note, last sign, Neptune, Triton fading signal choose light…choose love,” as a balm to humanity’s woes.
Far Out previously reviewed Harvey’s I Inside the Old Year Dying, observing, “There are moments of magic and thrilling innovation, but there are also moments where you wonder whether any of this was done with the listener in mind.”
As it stands, Harvey has no upcoming shows or live performances, but the mention of a new album suggests big things are on the horizon for the beloved British artist.
Watch the official video for the epic new track below.
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