Willie J Healey has announced news of a new EP set for release on 4th September via V2; 143, which will be released ahead of a short run of intimate October UK headline tour dates, and in the wake of a run of UK summer festival appearances, which include Truck Festival. The EP’s gorgeous lead single Ditch is out now – listen to it below.
On 143 Willie brings together 4-track home recordings with others made with producer Loren Humphrey in New York, the man behind his 2023 album Bunny. Commenting on the new single, he says: “Ditch, sent from above. I just sat there with my arms open, and it fell down to me. A gift from the tape lords, Loren Humphrey at the wheel, me in the passenger seat with the windows all the way down. It’s a feeler about old-fashioned brains, Romeo and Juliet type situations, being young and scared.”
Continuing about the EP, he says: “143 is a collection of recordings pulled from different recording sessions. Some were made entirely on my 4-track at home, and others were made with Loren Humphrey in New York. It feels good to me to make my own kind of mixtape. A compilation of my favourites! I called it 143 because my friend sent me a message using that code, and it took me a while to figure out that it means “I love you.” I thought, hey, that’s a nice way of not being too soppy.”
He goes on, “I think 143 was mainly used back when people had pagers. The songs and recordings really don’t have many bells and whistles; they’re all pretty straight up. We wanted to get the message across as directly as possible. It’s my most Neil yet. It feels freeing to be releasing stuff I did at home with stuff from New York. It’s kinda more my style than previous releases!”
Pre-order/pre-save the 143 EP HERE.
Willie J Healey UK Tour Dates 2026:
25 Jul – Truck Festival, Oxford, UK
08 Oct – Just Dropped In, Coventry, UK
09 Oct – Bootleg Social, Blackpool, UK
10 Oct – Tenement Trail, Glasgow, UK
22 Oct – Chalk, Brighton, UK (Supporting Sea Power)
23 Oct – Boia Festival, St Davids, UK
Tickets available here
