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Artist News Gigs & Festivals Releases
John Grant announced new album produced by Cate Le Bon
By Andy Malt | Published on Thursday 25 March 2021
John Grant has announced that he will release his fifth solo album this summer. Titled ‘Boy From Michigan’, the record is produced by Cate Le Bon.
Alongside the announcement comes the album’s title track, about which Grant says: “I discovered the chord progression in the chorus of ‘Boy From Michigan’ on my OB6 [synthesiser] back when I was working on [last album] ‘Love Is Magic’, and while I knew it would eventually become a song, I didn’t know what to do with it yet. Sometimes you just know you need to take your time with certain ideas”.
“The song sprang from a moment I experienced when I was about eleven and we were about to move to Colorado from Michigan”, he goes on. “My best buddy took me aside and warned me about ‘the world out there’ – so the song is about the transition from childhood to adulthood, the simplicity and innocence of childhood and the oftentimes rude awakening that occurs when one crosses over into adulthood”.
“It’s also about romanticising the past, which can be dangerous”, he adds. “I don’t believe one can or should live in the past, but if you ignore it, well, you know. I also have to say there are moments when I actually relive the scent of early spring as the snow is beginning to melt revealing the wet earth beneath. It’s incredible”.
On working with Cate Le Bon on the album, he says: “Cate and I are both very strong-willed people. Making a record is hard on a good day. The mounting stress of the US election and the pandemic really started to get to us by late July and August last year. It was at times a very stressful process under the circumstances, but one which was also full of many incredible and joyful moments”.
The album will be out on 25 Jun through Bella Union. Watch the video for ‘Boy From Michigan’ here: