Alberta Cross have announced plans to release a reworked version of their 2007 debut ‘’The Thief and The Heartbreaker’’ later this year featuring a wealth of musical collaborations from as yet unnamed friends (with one notable exception – see below). Re-recorded in Frome, Somerset, at Ethan John and Dom Monks (Big Thief) Bert Jansch studio, the forthcoming release was self-produced by Alberta Cross vocalist Petter Ericson Stakee, and mastered at Abbey Road Studios. As a taste of things to come, they have revealed the brand new version of ‘Lucy Rider’ featuring Katie Melua which you can hear below and, guess what, it’s a cracker.
Petter Stakee comments “I met Katie in my early 20s. She was one of the first champions of the band even before we got a record deal. It felt full circle to meet again after my years away living in New York City and to write together. We ended up doing some songs for her last two records. We’ve always had a creative connection so it was important to me to have her involved with this project. ‘Lucy Rider’ is a song I wrote about a beautiful girl I used to know in East London. She had so much going for her but she kept getting more and more involved with bad company and all that goes with that. It felt very dark to see at the time. It’s about how she kept pushing away all the positives she had going for her and replaced it with the bad things. Katie’s stunning voice felt perfect for this one”
And Katie Melua adds “I met Petter and Terry from Alberta cross in the early 2000’s and have been a fan of the band for so long, I definitely played the Thief and the Heartbreaker to death during my 20s! So when Petter asked me to guest on the new version of Lucy Rider, it was a big yes”.
Alberta Cross are an Anglo-Swedish rock band founded by singer and guitarist Petter Ericson Stakee and London’s Terry Wolfers in the mid-00s. Originally released in 2007 as a collection of self produced demos, Alberta Cross’s debut ‘’The Thief and The Heartbreaker” set the blueprint of their sound. “It felt so great writing those songs” recalls Petter. “Wherever I play in the world, I still have to play them. It felt so pure, it was one of the most exciting times I’ve had as a songwriter”.
The reworking follows their last album of original material, 2023’s “Sinking Ships”.
