Composer-pianist and algorithmic maestro – LARKHALL – will return in 2023 with a collaborative new album: âAnd You Were: Say Youâre With Me Reworkedâ.
Released on 26 May, the record will feature nine radical reinterpretations of songs which featured on Larkhallâs 2022 album âSay Youâre With Meâ created during the isolation of lockdown.
Enlisting a cast of creatives who have crossed paths with the Bath-based artist AKA Charlie Williams since his move to the UK, the album will see guest appearances from artists including Echo Juliet, Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres, Neil Gay, Simeon Walker, Jim Cornick, Josh Semans, Harriet Riley, and more, all of whom lend their idiosyncratic stylings and individual talents to this eclectic release.
Leading the way into the new release, Larkhall is delighted to unveil two of the albumâs most immediate and engaging cuts: James Yuillâs reworking of âEleven Japanese Streamsâ, plus Ani Glassâ rework of âCascadeâ, both of which are available to stream now.
Earning his stripes remixing for legendary acts like Erasure and M83, and premier producers like Mint Royale and David Holmes, the Moshi Moshi-signed James Yuill brings his vivid visions to the world of Larkhall for the first time. Transforming the pensive piano score of the original into a playful synth-pop wonderland, Yuillâs rework of âEleven Japanese Streamsâ glitters with the bright, innovative and optimistic energy of his own folktronica creations.Â
Speaking about the rework of his 2022 album Larkhall says:
“It’s a great way to hear another side of a musical idea and the perfect excuse to collaborate with someone who’s in your creative circles but you haven’t worked with before. James was on my radar as a great-musician-and-nice-guy around the London scene, we got talking on social media and the invitation for a remix was simple “Here’s the track, do whatever you want!â
So impressed with Yuillâs rework, the track would provide the lightbulb moment that would therein inspire a full collection of reworks, âAnd You Were: Say Youâre With Me Reworkedâ, which will arrive later this Spring. As Larkhall adds:
âHis remix of Eleven Japanese Streams is so good that it actually inspired the rest of the âreworksâ albumâ it was an idea that had sort of been kicking around in my head, but hearing his remix made it clear that this was something worth pursuing.â
Putting her spin on Larkhallâs oeuvre, Ani Glass has also shared her own renegade reworking of âCascadeâ. Ploughing slinky new grooves into the postclassical piano-based piece, the Cardiff-based electronic-pop musician, producer and Welsh Music Prize-nominated artist proves her pedigree with this dark, dancefloor-ready transformation.
With Yuill and Glassâs reworks available to hear today, âAnd You Were: Say Youâre With Me Reworkedâ arrives in-full on 26 May 2023. The tracklisting is as follows:Â
Eleven Japanese Streams (James Yuill Rework)
Uncertain Times (Echo Juliet Rework)
Cascade (Ani Glass Rework)
Vincennes (Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres Rework)
Time of Flight (Neil Gay Rework)
Before We Knew (Harriet Riley Rework)
In My Mind Are All The Tides (Josh Semans Rework)
Uncertain Times (Simeon Walker Rework)
On The Morning of the Second Day (Jim Cornick Rework)
Larkhall is a prizewinning concert pianist and coder-musician extraordinaire. A self-described âmad scientistâ, his innovative live performances see him work in cooperation with Otto, a computer system of his custom design, who creates spectacular live visual projections that respond in real time to his performance.
A composer of elegant electronic-infused piano pieces that share DNA with the neo-classical artists such as Nils Frahm or Max Ritcher and the nu-soul / minimalism of Go Go Penguin, he has released two albums to date, including his 2019 debut âThe Sea Was Never Blueâ (which reached #2 on the iTunes Classical Chart) and âSay Youâre With Meâ (2022). Technically complex, yet masterfully understated and laced with a magnetic sense of melody, Larkhallâs most recent album received praise from the likes of Times Radio (âA new exciting voice on the contemporary sceneâ) and Scala (âAbsolutely lovelyâ). Larkhall pairs the album with a new release in 2023 âAnd You Were: Say Youâre With Me Reworkedâ; nine collaborative reworkings of songs from the project.
Touring in support of the release, Larkhall will be performing live at a special âPiano Day Celebrationâ at St George’s Bristol, alongside Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres and Simeon Walker on 2nd April.Â
LARKHALL – 2023 LIVE DATES
18 March – Pervasive Media Studio Bristol
1 April – Twigmore Hall Bath (w/ Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres + Simeon Walker)
2 April – St George’s Bristol (w/ Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres + Simeon Walker)