Brian Eno will release The Ship, his first solo album in four years, on April 29.
The work was inspired by the disaster of the Titanic, which sank on its maiden voyage in 1912 with the loss of over 1500 lives.
Eno says: “Humankind seems to teeter between hubris and paranoia: the hubris of our ever-growing power contrasts with the paranoia that we’re permanently and increasingly under threat.
“At the zenith we realise we have to come down again. We know that we have more than we deserve or can defend, so we become nervous. Somebody, something is going to take it all from us: that is the dread of the wealthy. Paranoia leads to defensiveness, and we all end up in the trenches facing each other across the mud.”
He draws a comparison between the Titanic and the First World War, saying: “The catastrophic failure of each set the stage for a century of dramatic experiments with the relationships between humans and the worlds they make for themselves.”
Eno adds: “On a musical level, I wanted to make a record of songs that didn’t rely on the normal underpinnings of rhythmic structure and chord progressions – but which allowed voices to exist in their own space and time, like events in a landscape.
“I wanted to place sonic events in a free, open space.”
The Ship features two main tracks – the 21-minute title piece and a three-sectioned suite called Fickle Sun, featuring a cover of Lou Reed’s I’m Set Free. It also contains a poem read by actor Peter Seranofowicz.
It’s available for pre-order now.
Brian Eno working on 'extraordinary' album
Brian Eno The Ship tracklist
- The Ship
- Fickle Sun
(i) Fickle Sun
(ii) The Hour Is Thin
(iii) I’m Set Free
