Fish has had to push back the release date of his final album Weltschmerz due to family issues.
The vocalist had originally planned to release the follow-up to 2013’s A Feast Of Consequences in 2017 and retire in 2018, but shoulder surgery disrupted his plans and the whole process was pushed back.
He now reports that as a result of looking after his mother who is suffering from back problems, the album will now arrive in September.
Fish says that over the festive period, his 86 year old mother suffered a back injury which has left her mobility vastly impaired, and, as a result, she has moved in with him and his wife Simone as “she could no longer cope with living on her own.”
Fish continues: “I already have planning permission for a new office to be created as an extension to the Studio and we were aiming to have it built this spring once the weather had settled.
“This would mean I could shift the working core to the new building and create another bedroom in the former office which had enough space and toilet/shower facilities to accommodate my mother when she could no longer live independently.
“Events however overtook us and my mother has had to move here a lot sooner than expected. I’d promised my father that we would look after her and refused to see my mum in a home or anywhere else."
I’d promised my father that we would look after her and refused to see my mum in a home or anywhere else.
Fish
He adds: “Living with us in the studio was the only way forward and always the short term plan.”
Fish says that due to the current situation it's “impossible to consider any writing or recording here and with no accommodation available, I can’t afford to put musicians up in hotels for long periods. I made the decision to move the Weltschmerz release back to September.
“This allows me to reconsolidate, get on with my side of the writing and oversee the build of the extension with the aim of getting back into full band sessions in April/May and recording in the summer.”
Fish will honour the open-air commitments he has for this year but will hold back on further touring throughout 2019 and hopes to return to the road in 2020 to play Weltschmerz and revisit his debut solo album Vigil In A Wilderness Of Mirrors.
Fish concludes: “It’s a complicated and demanding time in our lives but one we have to stand up and be strong in. We can get through this but for now I have to concentrate on what is dear to me and what’s important. My family is always foremost.”
In 2018, Fish released the EP A Parlay With Angels, which featured the single Man With A Stick.
