Paloma Faith – one of only two British female artists this decade to have their last three albums go double platinum in the UK – will release her long-awaited fourth album, ‘The Architect’, on November 17 via RCA Records.
 
The new album – her first in more than three years and since giving birth to her first child – features an array of acclaimed co-writers, producers and collaborators including: Sia, John Legend, Jesse Shatkin, TMS, Starsmith, Tobias Jesso Jr., Eg White, Rag'n'Bone Man, actor Samuel L. Jackson and journalist and activist Owen Jones.
 
Paloma, who won the BRIT Award for British Female Solo Artist in 2015 following the phenomenal success of her last record, 2014’s ‘A Perfect Contradiction’, explores both personal and political themes on the album.
 
Whilst the music is classic Paloma – with sweeping orchestral tracks, smooth soul, sleek disco grooves and stomping electro pop all featured on the album – the lyrics raise social and political questions, and cover powerful and topical themes, such as motherhood, social anxiety, wealth inequality, technology’s impact on feelings of alienation…. oh and also the future of the Western world, Donald Trump, Brexit and the refugee crisis – all within the confines of classic pop.

A deluxe version of the album will include four bonus tracks -
 
16. Power to the Peaceful
17. Tonight’s Not the Only Night
18. My Body
19. Price of Fame

Title track ‘The Architect’ features - if you can imagine it – Paloma as Mother Nature, singing to humanity, while ‘Guilty’ reflects on the Brexit vote from the perspective of a Leave voter who regrets their choice. Lead single ‘Crybaby’ ponders whether war would cease to exist if men successfully dealt with their emotions, and ‘Lost and Lonely’ is sung from the viewpoint of a skeleton!
 
The album also includes the track ‘Warrior’ written by Sia, which Paloma interprets to be about the refugee crisis, a duet with John Legend, ‘I’ll Be Gentle’, and two spoken word interludes – album opener ‘Evolution’ which is performed by acclaimed actor Samuel L. Jackson and ‘Politics of Hope’ which is a political commentary by Owen Jones. String arrangements on ‘The Architect’, ‘Warrior’ and ‘I’ll Be Gentle’ were written by David Arnold, the celebrated film and TV composer best known for his work on James Bond and Sherlock.
 
Paloma said: “‘The Architect’ is a social observation record. I was adamant that I wouldn’t write about love. I wanted to look outside of myself. I’m coming at politics from the perspective of the common man or woman, observing why people are suffering. Each song on the record is about a different pocket of the socio-political world that I’ve been delving into.”
 
She added: “I wanted to write something more modern. On previous albums I’ve been more concerned with the past, but now I’m looking forward because of motherhood and wanting to change things for a better future. It’s a marriage of old and new.”
 
Today Paloma releases the video for first single, ‘Crybaby’ – watch here. The dystopian video, which is directed by Thomas James and was shot in Ukraine, opens with footage of IVF, a newborn baby and a young girl, before a man addresses a group of uniformed young people, including the girl, in a human factory. He gives a speech about qualities such as emotion, empathy and feeling, which he says are “for the weak, for those we leave behind, for those that we remove from the crop.” The rest of video features Paloma as one of the people in the institution as she encounters the brutal training of the people imprisoned.
 
‘The Architect’ follows the huge success of Paloma’s last album, ‘A Perfect Contradiction’, which spent 29 weeks in the Top 10 Albums Chart, 66 weeks in the Top 40, and 100 weeks in the Top 200. The epic lead single from the record, ‘Only Love Can Hurt Like This’, is Paloma’s biggest-selling to date, with over half a million copies sold and 55 million streams on Spotify.

Pre-order the ‘The Architect’ here and here
 
Paloma will embark on a UK arena tour next year, entertaining huge crowds across the UK and Ireland playing shows at venues including the Manchester Arena, Newcastle’s Metro Radio Arena, Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Dublin’s 3Arena and London’s O2 Arena. Tickets for The Architect tour 2018 go on sale on September 29 at 9am via gigsandtours.com
 
Full UK arena tour dates below:
 
March 2          First Direct Arena, Leeds
March 3          Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
March 5          BHGE Arena, Aberdeen
March 6          The SSE Hydro, Glasgow
March 8          Manchester Arena, Manchester

March 9          Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle
March 11        BIC, Bournemouth
March 12        Brighton Centre, Brighton
March 14        O2 Arena, London
March 17        Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, Cardiff

March 20        Echo Arena, Liverpool
March 21        Genting Arena, Birmingham
March 23        The SSE Arena, Belfast
March 24        3Arena, Dublin

 
From the very lowest moment in her life the extraordinarily talented Rebecca Ferguson has produced a breath taking new album, ‘Superwoman’. It is set to be released 14th October and her first single ‘Bones’ will be available from 2nd September (impacting 7th October).
 
Forged from heartbreak and a tale of lover’s abandonment combined with the bittersweet joy of giving birth to his child, Superwoman is infused with the strength of a woman who has finally taken control. It is the ultimate soundtrack for anyone who has ever had to build themselves back up after a heartbreak Rebecca is stronger, happier and more fearless than ever before.
 
Rebecca says of the album “This is honest and emotionally complex, I found strength and security writing this album” adding “It’s my most personal album ever and it’s brought me to a place in my life where I feel strong. I called it Superwoman because I learnt to embrace my vulnerability and accept it as a strength.”
 
‘Superwoman’ was produced by Troy Miller (Mark Ronson, Amy Winehouse), and features collaborators such as Jonny Lattimer  (Ellie Goulding, James Bay), Negin Djafari (Miley Cyrus) and previous collaborator Eg White (Adele, Florence And The Machine, Sam Smith).
 
One of the most distinctive voices in pop, Rebecca has previously won critical acclaim for taking on the Billie Holiday songbook in previous release ‘Lady Sings The Blues’. The working class girl from Liverpool who battled so hard to make it as a singer has become one of the most exciting and compelling artists of our times. This is her fourth album, something not many ‘talent show’ contestants can say, but from the off there was always something intrinsically sincere about Rebecca’s delivery that set her apart from everyone else.

Since her break on X Factor six years ago, the once shy and insecure artist has gone on to win fans on both sides of the Atlantic, touring Britain, Europe and America winning plaudits from Adele as well as critics winning comparisons to her heroes Macy Gray and Aretha Franklin. 
 
Rebecca is embarking on a tour later this year, dates are:
 
23/10             Venue Cymru, Llandudno
24/10             Manchester Bridgewater Hall
25/10             Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
27/10             Sage Gateshead
28/10             York Barbican Centre
01/11             The London Palladium , London
02/11             Birmingham Symphony Hall

04/11             Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
05/11             Cambridge Corn Exchange
06/11             Colston Hall, Bristol
08/11             Nottingham Royal Concert Hall
09/11             Ipswich Regent Theatre
11/11             Sheffield City Hall
13/11             G Live Guildford
14/11             St David’s Hall, Cardiff
15/11             De Montfort Hall, Leicester

Fifteen-time Grammy® Award-winning singer, songwriter and producer, Alicia, is back with the release of a brand new single 'In Common'.'The track is available now across all digital platforms.

The video, Directed by Pierre Debusschere, is shot in black and white and reflects her NYC roots and hip-hop culture while blending her perspective of the raw humanity of the world. It celebrates individuality, but also looks at how we are all just human and want the same things – love, freedom and to be true to ourselves.


Video credits:

Director: Pierre Debusschere
Executive Producer: Ziggy Le Vin
Head of Production: Matt Leiderman
Producer: Keeley Gould
Production Company: Art + Commerce Film
Editors: Pascal Oberlin and Spencer Campbell

The single is Alicia's first release in four years, taken from her forthcoming sixth studio album, due out later this summer on RCA Records. Written by Alicia, Illangelo, Tayla Parks, Billy Walsh and produced by Illangelo, the long-time Grammy-Award winning producer of The Weeknd, "In Common" is destined to become 2016's biggest summer jam, seducing us with its infectious baseline and Latin inspired rhythm, which will ignite airwaves and dance-floors across the globe.

"In Common" Links

Apple Music: http://smarturl.it/iAKCommon
Google Play: http://smarturl.it/gAKCommon
Spotify: http://smarturl.it/sAKCommon
Amazon: http://smarturl.it/azAKCommon
Vevo: http://smarturl.it/pvAKCommon 


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