BLANCMANGE RELEASE NEW SINGLE ‘TAKE ME’ ‘PRIVATE VIEW’ ALBUM OUT 30 SEPTEMBER 2022
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Blancmange today share a new track ‘Take Me’, the latest taste of what to expect from their forthcoming album ‘Private View’, which is due out on 30 September 2022. ‘Private View’ marks a return to London Records, almost 40 years to the day the label released the band’s debut.
Listen to the track, which opens with a delicate piano motif, before intertwining layers build to a motorik beat and Neil’s understated, yet emotional vocal.
Neil Arthur explains, ‘As usual I’m playing with double meanings and domestic references. Can you take me, in terms of the unpredictable aspects of a personality, or can you literally take me to our favourite place by the sea? And also, how much does someone have to ‘take’ before a relationship breaks down? How many times can your partner be expected to accept repeated mistakes? Where is the tipping point?’
Across the album, there’s a deft marriage of futuristic electronic sounds, Arthur’s unmistakable vocal hooks, and songs that veer from buoyant and joyful to dark and brooding. Benge returns as a key collaborator, and David Rhodes (Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, Scott Walker) returns as the guitarist, having previously performed with the band on 1982’s debut ‘Happy Families’, as well as several other Blancmange albums.
In their post-punk early days, Blancmange made tape loops and experimental sounds with kitchen utensils, before developing into one of the definitive chart-topping British electronic pop acts. Since reforming in 2011 (Luscombe had to leave shortly after for health reasons) Arthur has harnessed a duality of experimentation and seamless pop melody to release a staggering 10 albums in the last decade.
‘I don't know whether I'm on a roll, but I feel something in me has been released’ he says. ‘I used to hold back, and I didn't trust myself. While I'm still full of self-doubt I'm now quite comfortable with it. This is it. We’ve only got one time around the block, so make the most of it.
The past is used as a trigger to create new ideas and build fresh momentum, not as somewhere to linger.
‘A lot of people are frightened of the future and are quite happy to have a repeat of something that was done before’ he says ‘But it's just not for me. Looking forward you've got a hell of a world to try and navigate through at the moment. We're all moving forward - so we've got to try and find some answers.’
‘Private View’ is a record that manages to capture an artist who is potently in the moment when it comes to creating new work, while also being able to draw on 40 years’ worth of knowledge, experience, and built-in intuition.
‘I'm really lucky to be able make the music completely on my own terms’ Arthur says, ‘Within myself there are no limits, there’s a massive palette inside and I will try anything.’
Blancmange ‘Take Me’ is out now and available Here
Blancmange ‘Some Times These’ is out now and available Here
Blancmange ‘Private View’
is out on vinyl, CD and digitally on 30 September 2022. Pre-orders are available Here
‘Private View’ track listing:
What’s Your Name * Some Times These * Reduced Voltage * Here We Go Go * Chairs
Who Am I * Everything Is Connected * I Tried To Be You * Private View * Take Me
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jo@maddogpublicity.com.au [mob] + 61 414 316 044