Cosmo Sheldrake Advocates For Marine Conservation On New Single 'Old Ocean'
The new track comes as the latest to be unveiled from Cosmo's long-awaited second studio album Eye to the Ear, which is out April 12.
By: Michael Major Feb. 22, 2024
London-born Cosmo Sheldrake is sharing his new single “Old Ocean”, which arrives alongside a stunning visual piece, directed by Lemon Thief. The new track comes as the latest to be unveiled from Cosmo's long-awaited second studio album Eye to the Ear, which is out April 12 via Tardigrade Records.
The multi-instrumentalist, producer, composer, accomplished live improviser and field recordist recently shared “Stop the Music” and “Does the Swallow Dream of Flying” from the forthcoming record which surpassed a million streams within the first week.
On the new track, Cosmo says: “‘Old Ocean,' like many songs on this album, was made almost entirely using solar power. I spent much of 2020 and some of 2021 living in a small off-grid cottage powered by an unpredictable generator, so I made a temporary solar-powered studio. Around this time there was a lot of discussion of so-called 'alternative facts', and the idea of truth was becoming ever more slippery in public discourse. In this song, I try to make sense of these developments against the ever-present backdrop of acidification, dead zones, deep sea mining, coral reef bleaching, overfishing, noise pollution, and many other threats that the ocean faces.”
On the video, Cosmo says: “I am very excited to share the music video for ‘Old Ocean,' directed by Narna Hue. We had a lot of fun making it. Narna created wonders with the amazing sets, costumes and choreography. Shot by the wonderful Tom Jacobs. Many thanks also to the brilliant dancers and collaborators, Wilm Danby, Gráinne Young-Monaghanm and to Flora Wallace, who also helped make the costumes.”
Eye to the Ear is the eagerly awaited follow-up to Cosmo's first full-length album, The Much Much How How and I (2018). A work of remarkable range and maturity, Eye to the Ear sees Cosmo move from soulful ballads arranged for a nine-piece female and non-binary choir (HOWL) to haunting polyphonic songs that have grown out of field recordings of curlews, whales, fish, and frogs, in a continuation of Cosmo's dialogues with the rhythms and tones of the living world that he explored on Wake Up Calls (2020) and Wild Wet World (2023).
Together, this album creates a journey that feels both vast and intimate as it ranges deftly between folk forms, jazz, electronic and experimental pop. Cosmo's musical humor is a welcome and ever-present companion.
Eye to the Ear was produced by Cosmo and mixed by Dilip Harris (King Krule, Micachu, Mount Kimbie) and features 21 tracks combining traditional instrumentation, electronic production, and field recordings ranging from celebratory anthems to soulful elegies and irresistible dance numbers.
Animated by themes of interconnection and symbiosis, Cosmo's expansive musical imagination is rooted in practices of listening – both to human and more-than-human sound worlds. Eye to the Ear, Cosmo's most accomplished creation to date – as producer, composer, performer and songwriter – makes it clear that the living world is a noisy and musical place with the power to change the way we think, feel, and imagine.
UK + EU 2024 Tour Dates:
April 12 - Rough Trade East, London (sold out)
April 15 - Rough Trade, Bristol (sold out)
April 17 - The Academy, Dublin (sold out)
April 18 - Stereo, Glasgow (sold out)
April 19 - Yes, Manchester (sold out)
April 20 - Belgrave Music Hall, Leeds (sold out)
May 2 - SWX, Bristol
May 3 - EartH, London (sold out)
May 4 - EartH, London (sold out)
May 15 - Trix, Antwerp (sold out)
May 16 - Tolhuistuin, Amsterdam (sold out)
May 17 - Le Hasard Ludique, Paris (sold out)
May 18 - Bürgerhaus Stollwerck, Cologne (upgraded)
May 20 - Knust, Hamburg (sold out)
May 21 - Metropol, Berlin (upgraded)
May 22 - Theaterfabrik, Munich (upgraded)
May 28 - Wiener Konzerthaus, Vienna
October 3 - New Century, Manchester
October 4 - Project House, Leeds
October 10 - KOKO, London
October 12 - The Goods Shed, Stroud
Credit: Jack Thompson-Roylance
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