Shadowman – New single/video ‘You Are The Love’ out now , Self titled debut album out September

Shadowman, the new collaborative project from John J Presley, Ben Hillier and Danielle Perry, have recently announced the release of their self-titled debut album, arriving on 4th September via Nica Records/Republic of Music.

Today, the trio shares ‘You Are The Love‘, the latest glimpse into the forthcoming album and, in many ways, the song that unlocked the project. They explain: “‘You Are The Love’ was the pivotal point of this whole Shadowman project. An original idea laid down by John J Presley late one night through sleep deprivation. He then took it to the studio where him and Ben mapped it out and found a thrilling and enigmatic energy to the track. From delicate, sparse, vulnerable vocals and tales of city lights, oblivion and lack of rest to powerful, intense guitar and drum build ups make this track a heady mix of all the atmospherics from the forthcoming album. It’s a late-night record. For certain”

Previous singles ‘Flowers‘ and ‘Don’t Assume‘ have received continued support at BBC 6 Music from Iggy Pop, Guy Garvey, Chris Hawkins, Steve Lamacq and John Kennedy on Radio X.

Driven by a shared creative vision, the UK trio makes music instinctively, blending crushing guitars, cinematic orchestration, death-march brass, motorik drum machines, layered vocals, and slow-building post-rock into a sound that is both expansive and uncompromising.

John explains: “Shadowman, both as a collective and the resulting album, started as an experiment. After one particular tour, I bought a new acoustic guitar and started to write the bones of these songs with a real focus on songwriting rather than the tones and sounds, as I had before.

This guitar (a 70s Guild) almost seemed to arrive ready to play them… Sometimes that happens with a new instrument. Weeks of writing followed, and I then took them to Ben Hillier to pad out with drums and track at his studio, Agricultural Audio. My longtime collaborator and wife Danielle Perry joined us for those, and we carved them into the Shadowman album with engineer Dan Crook”. 

Ben adds, “John came to the studio with some of his new demos. I’ve always loved his singing, and I was blown away by the songs – the space and freedom in there – and by Danielle’s voice. I never knew she could sing! The sessions were fast, reactive – trying to grab the first inspiration. Always in the first three takes. Dan Crook captured everything on 2” tape from the first note we played. Pete Wareham and Marcus Hamblett added extra colour and depth with their unique sax and brass textures. Then, to finish the production, we had to nurture that fresh energy. Careful not to straighten out the creases or lose the detail. Never flatten the dynamic or over-elaborate”.

‘SHADOWMAN’ TRACKLISTING

1. You Are The Love

2. Don’t Assume

3. New York in Spring

4. Flowers

5. Wedding Singer

6. On Fire

7. Waiting on the Old Songs

8. Look at You Now

9. Blonde (Demo Mix)

10. Summer Sun

PRE-ORDER ‘SHADOWMAN’