“There’s No Mountain” is featured on his new album ‘All That Was East Is West of Me Now,’ coming out October 20.
Irish musician Glen Hansard, whose music NPR has called “expansive without sacrificing intimacy,” is sharing the new song “There’s No Mountain” today. The song points forward, to the virtue of simply pressing on, despite cataclysms global and personal that might challenge any stable orbit.
It also calls to mind Dylan’s “Forever Young” with the insightful line “when you go without, then you'll go within," and the power of positivity with the inspirational sentiment “there's no mountain great or small that you can't climb." Listen to “There’s No Mountain” below.
A song that will resonate with fans of Hansard’s earlier solo work, “There’s No Mountain” is featured on his new album ‘All That Was East Is West of Me Now,’ coming out October 20. Equal parts noisy and meditative as well as sprawling and hypnotic, the album was produced by long time Glen Hansard and The Frames co-conspirator David Odlum (Tinariwen, Sam Smith) at his home studio on the outskirts of Dublin.
The process of recording, as of songwriting, “must be an intuitive leap into what feels right,” says Hansard. “When it feels right, I usually run from it, mix it quickly before it collapses.” For the bulk of the record, Hansard was joined in the studio by fellow Frames Joe Doyle, Graham Hopkins, Ruth O’Mahony Brady, Rob Bochnik and honorary Frame Earl Harvin. Strings came courtesy from fellow live contributors Gareth Quinn Redmond, Kate Ellis, Paula Hughes, Katie O’Connor and Una O’Kane.
“I’m in the latter third of a good life!” Hansard says of the meaning behind the album’s title. “And my golden prize is a life in song. I haven't gotten lost, I’ve stayed true to my first calling, and I’ve been blessed with life’s deepest riches. So, I might be facing west, or east. But I’m happy in the place I’m in.”
There is great possibility here. The journey is nearer to its completion than its commencement, but Hansard isn’t yet ready to come to a standstill; there are more mountains to climb, there is more terrain to explore. There is still so much more to experience.
Next week Hansard and his band will perform at Southern California’s Ohana Fest, followed by a run of European tour dates that begin shortly after the new album’s release. All upcoming dates are listed below.
9/29 - Dana Point, CA @ Ohana Fest
10/30 - London, UK @ The London Palladium
10/31 - Manchester, UK @ RNCM Theatre SOLD OUT
11/2 - Paris, France @ La Cigale
11/3 - Brussels, Belgium @ Cirque Royal
11/5 - Cologne, Germany @ E-Werk
11/6 - Frankfurt, Germany @ Jahrhunderthalle
11/8 - Munich, Germany @ Circus Krone
11/9 - Vienna, Austria @ Wiener Konzerthaus
11/11 - Zurich, Switzerland @ Volkshaus
11/12 - Milan, Italy @ Teatro Dal Verme
11/14 - Prague, Czechia @ Velký sál Lucerna
11/15 - Warsaw, Poland @ Palladium Club
11/17 - Berlin, Germany @ Verti Music Hall
11/20 - Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Royal Theatre Carré SOLD OUT
11/21 - Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Royal Theatre Carré SOLD OUT
12/13 - Dublin, Ireland @ Vicar Street SOLD OUT
12/15 - Galway, Ireland @ Leisureland
12/16 - Derry, UK @ St. Columb’s Hall
12/18 - Belfast, UK @ Ulster Hall
12/19 - Cork, Ireland @ City Hall
Photo Credit: Stephan VanFleteren
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