Gus Harvey kicks off 2020 with new single ‘Albion’

British singer, songwriter and producer Gus Harvey has unveiled new single ‘Albion’, out 17th May.

Inspired by a historic pub of the same name that was once frequented by the Kray twins, ‘Albion’ is a wistful ballad that pairs Harvey’s effortless vocals with sparse, jangling instrumentation. The track is also accompanied by an official video, directed and shot by Netti Hurley and Lee Colleen, that explores the mysticism attached to the notorious watering hole.

“We collected the reverb and echoes of abandoned UK buildings, the old Kray twin pub in Hackney and a disused church, and I was taking photographs of everything I saw,” Harvey explains. “Living in the pub had a huge impact. It felt like something weird was happening to time inside the walls – I was very curious and nostalgic for the old England that I could see and smell, also aware of being in this one last moment of suspension before little pockets of history just disappeared.

She continues: “The buildings had been their communities’ hubs for hundreds of years and were filled with soul. I had to record everything about it that was possible to record – the sounds and the sight: sadly not possible to capture the magic old pub smell!”

‘Albion’ marks the first single release from Harvey’s forthcoming ‘England’ EP, inspired by her return to the UK after a stint in Berlin. She first announced herself to the wider music world in 2017 with debut single ‘Witches’, with the track receiving support from Lauren Laverne on BBC Radio 6 and being named ‘Track of the Day’ by Clash Magazine. She then released maiden EP ‘History’ the following year and follow-up EP ‘TXC’ in early 2019.