Next year, 2026, marks the 25th anniversary of David Kitt’s much-loved album The Big Romance. With work on The Big Romance (Kittser’s Version) nearing completion, Kitt will release a series of reworked and new tracks over the coming months.
First up, out today, are Song From Hope St. (Brooklyn, NY) and T’s & C’s – both produced by Ken McHugh, who collaborated with Kitt on the original album.
Speaking about today’s offering, Kitt says: “Ken McHugh’s sonic imprint was key to the success of the original record and it was really important to have him on board for the project. Ken suggested that we work on a new track to test the waters and see if we still had the connection and I guess to suss me out having not worked together in almost 25 years. I sent him a bunch of voice note demos and ‘Ts & Cs’ was the one he picked out and he came to Kerry to record it at my home studio. The eureka moment came pretty fast, we were literally a few hours in and I could hear his sound – the way he captures my voice and guitar playing – coming through in the headphones. It was both a relief and a joy to hear it. ‘T’s & C’s’ was pretty much done in a couple of days start to finish which is how we worked back in the day, and I think fans of ‘The Big Romance’ will really dig it.
‘Hope St’ has taken us a bit longer and we’re still chipping away on the longer album version but we’re both very happy with the direction and felt the single mix was ready for public consumption and has been given the thumbs up by friends and family who hold the original dear to their hearts.”
Following his home-recorded debut Small Moments, 2001’s The Big Romance marked Kittser’s first experience working in a professional studio.
“The bulk of the original album was recorded at Pulse Studios off Camden St. with producer Ken McHugh – owner of many of the synths and samplers and drum machines I dreamt of owning back then. It was such an exciting time to have access to this dream palette of sounds and Ken’s skill and talent as a producer/programmer. I was bringing in records from underground electronica and hip hop as references for the sound I was going for and the results were a fusion of more traditional acoustic and electric instruments with electronic sounds and hip-hop flavours that was pretty fresh for the time. It felt like a distillation of all the things I was a fan of. It’s a sound I feel I’ve been honing and crafting ever since.”
The record – featuring the singles ‘Song From Hope St. (Brooklyn, NY)’ and ‘You Know What I Wanna Know’ – sold 60,000 copies in Ireland alone and marked a major shift in Kitt’s life as a musician and performer.
Originally released on Warner Music, Kitt reflects: “the contract I signed back then means they own the rights to the album “for the universe forever”, apparently. Great! I approached them about a vinyl reissue for the 10th and 20th anniversaries and got nowhere. So, for the 25th anniversary, I decided to take matters into my own hands and make a version of the album that I own myself and I’m free to press on vinyl.”
The new release features all ten tracks of the original album along with five new tracks and b-side and fan favourite ‘Saturdays’ – all lovingly and faithfully remade in Ballinskelligs, at Kitt’s home studio, with the invaluable help of Ken McHugh and drawing on his 25 years’ experience of making records with synths and samplers.
“I feel I’ve landed on a document that has the sonic and emotional DNA of the original – and at times improves on it, a record that will be cherished by fans of the original and would get the seal of approval from my 25-year-old self.”
‘The Big Romance (Kittser’s Version)’ will be released on All City Records on April 10, 2026, on vinyl, CD and digital.
Bandcamp: https://davidkitt.bandcamp.com/album/the-big-romance-kittsers-version
A special performance of the album in full, featuring friends and collaborators old and new, takes place at The National Concert Hall in Dublin on April 10. Tickets for this show are on sale now at www.nch.ie ( https://www.nch.ie/all-events-listing/nch-landmarks-david-kitt-the-big-romance-apr26/ )
Photo credit – Erica Coburn