The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows, the new studio album from Damon Albarn, will be released by new label home Transgressive Records on 12th November 2021.
The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows was originally intended as an orchestral piece inspired by the landscapes of Iceland. This last year has seen Albarn return to the music in lockdown and develop the work to 11 trackswhich further explore themes of fragility, loss, emergence and rebirth. The result is a panoramic collection of songs with Albarn as storyteller. The album title is taken from a John Clare poem Love and Memory.
Albarn says “I have been on my own dark journey while making this record and it led me to believe that a pure source might still exist.”
In a career of perpetual musical shifts and exploration, the record uncovers yet more ground, finding expansive orchestral arrangements nestling with intimate melodies, discordance brushing up against infectious majesty, all set to some of Albarn’s most arresting vocal performances to date. Much like the beauty and chaos of the natural world it soundtracks, The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows vividly documents the emotional ebb and flow of the human condition, in all its extremes, serving as a soul enriching document for our times.
The tracklisting is as follows:
1. The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows
2. The Cormorant
3. Royal Morning Blue
4. Combustion
5. Daft Wader
6. Darkness To Light
7. Esja
8. The Tower Of Montevideo
9. Giraffe Trumpet Sea
10. Polaris
11. Particles
Alongside a digital release, there will be limited edition vinyl formats, plus CD and cassette. There will also be a deluxe version of the album, taking the form of a casebound book with additional photography, original scanned lyrics and artwork from Damon, alongside a white vinyl version of the album, a high quality digital file and a bonus 7” featuring an exclusive song from the recording sessions.
Check out the new Song “The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows” here:
