Singer-songwriter and guitarist Martin Harley has announced his first solo album in five years, “Morning Sun”.for release on 18th October 2024 via Del Mundo Records. Harley has also announced some tour dates in Ocotber,November and Decembe 2024. Details can be found here.
The album was recorded at Airtight Studios in Manchester with Nigel Stonier in the producer’s chair – he previously produced “Drumrolls for Somersaults” (2010), “Morning Sun” is described as a more ambitious recording than some of the stripped-down acoustic recordings Harley has made in recent years. The new record features percussion from Michael Blair (Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Lou Reed), as well as two well-known members of the UK Americana scene, Mark Lewis on bass and Chris (CJ) Hillman on pedal steel.
Three singles from “Morning Sun” will be released before the album – the title track and ‘Lemonade’ are both available now, while ‘Wolves’is set to follow on 20 September 2024.
Harley has said of the making of “Morning Sun”: “Writing this record was an epic journey through the voice notes on my phone and scribbles on the back of receipts. Sometimes they begin as a guitar melody or a sentence that I can’t get out of my head. I listen to ideas when I’m driving, building stuff or I get up early and start playing guitar to see what comes out.”
He continues: ‘Morning Sun’ is a song that relates to the fact I’ve given up drinking in the past couple of years. That definitely affected the direction of the record. For many years I’ve used alcohol as an emotional regulator, therefore making a record completely sober had some terrifying moments. It is a new beginnings song and a reminder to celebrate the simple things, to be in the moment. An attempt to be as positive as a cat poster, without being too cheesy. This song is in the tempo of my walking pace”.
