THE EXCHANGE feat. JAMES DEAN BRADFIELD PREMIERES WITH NME

Ahead of the release of her new album, The Art of Losing, The Anchoress unleashes a brand new duet with James Dean Bradfield of the Manic Street Preachers on March 9th. 'The Exchange' is the fourth track to be taken from The Art of Losing, the forthcoming second album from Welsh producer and multi-instrumentalist The Anchoress (aka Catherine Anne Davies), to be released on March 12th via Kscope on 2LP, CD, and 3CD limited edition hardback.

‘The Exchange’ is an epic dark-rock anthem featuring the powerhouse vocal of the Manics’ James Dean Bradfield in a duet that examines the destructive dynamic created by “a world that sees people as puppets rather than as human beings”. It is accompanied by a powerful video directed by young filmmaker JJ Eringa that explores the exploitation of a young woman trapped inside a purgatorial cycle. Davies says: “We wanted to make a bit of a homage to The Red Shoes. We follow her fate as she is forced to play piano until her hands bleed, only to be brought back to life time and time again when she collapses with exhaustion”. Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/HLFqdfYeVJ4

The new track is produced by Davies and mixed by Dave Eringa (Manics, Wilko Johnson). She says: “I was so lucky that James agreed to lend his vocal to this track. It was written as a duet that explores a toxic dynamic created by those that see people as puppets rather than as human beings. When I first pulled his vocal into the finished track I had one of those goosebump moments where you pinch yourself that one of your childhood idols is singing a song that I wrote. The power and emotion in his voice is what makes him one of my all-time favourite singers. He’s a very inquisitive and intelligent musician. The legend that is Sterling Campell (who played drums for David Bowie for decades) also very kindly agreed to guest on the track. He was a dream to work with and he nailed it straight away in a remote session from his studio in New York. We first met while I was touring in Australia and Sterling was also playing with the mighty B-52s. We struck up a friendship through Mario McNulty (also part of the Bowie cohort) and the rest is musical history…”

Read more + watch the video over at NME now. https://www.nme.com/news/music/the-anchoress-shares-video-for-the-exchange-featuring-manics-james-dean-bradfield-2896680

THE SUNDAY TIMES ALBUM OF THE WEEK

Thank you The Sunday Times Magazine for making ‘The Art of Losing’ their ALBUM OF THE WEEK! I’m just completely gobsmacked! So many of my favourite albums have been discovered by reading Dan Cairn’s reviews. I wouldn’t have discovered the amazing Jennifer Terran if it wasnt for him championing her, so it’s extra special to find such lovely words on the record this morning:

“...recalls fellow experimentalists Bowie, Kate Bush, the Cure, Talk Talk and Tori Amos. A brave and inspirational album. And what a remarkable artist.” — Sunday Times Album of the Week

The album is out on Friday! x

Mail on Sunday's Album of the Week

Blown away to be Album of the Week in BOTH The Sunday Times Magazine and the Mail on Sunday today . The album is finally out this Friday and I couldn’t have asked for more rave reviews.

“Davies’s voice, like Annie Lennox’s, mixes vulnerability with verve. She gets to the heart of grief, showing it’s not so much five stages as six emotions at the same time. And she turns it into something life-enhancing.”

MAIL ON SUNDAY (Album of the Week)

Read the review in full here: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/event/article-9325781/The-Anchoress-album-review-gets-heart-grief.html

THE ANCHORESS on BBC RADIO 4's FRONT ROW

Thank you for all the lovely messages about my interview and feature on Front Row on BBC Radio 4. I don’t think my phone has ever buzzed so many times in an hour! Managed to get in a Bowie AND a C.S. Lewis quote, as well as refraining from the phrase “Tory B*#%*^s” when we talked about support for the Arts.

If you missed it, you can listen back now here (17m in): https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000sqlr?fbclid=IwAR17D4xCXRf4hhcQUzj_wWkYaV23tV-WoiN_WgRgSiPXwzII2ch47W4erRI

NME INTERVIEW + VIDEO PREMIERE FOR THE ART OF LOSING

I was thrilled to be interviewed by the brilliant Elizabeth Aubrey for the NME about the making of the new album and collaborating with the Manic Street Preachers' James Dean Bradfield and Sterling Campbell.

The NME are currently premiering the brand new video for new single 'The Art of Losing'.

Watch it and read the interview in full here: https://www.nme.com/news/music/anchoress-art-of-losing-interview-listen-manics-bowie-2861941?fbclid=IwAR1yxe9pcm17eUJ1JO91kfJGqSi5aphqlbJHburBoh-cziUGBIZpQmeP5QU



STEVE LAMACQ PREMIERES THE ART OF LOSING

Thank you Steve Lamacq for the world premiere and kind words for my new single ‘The Art of Losing’ on BBC Radio 6 Music today. “What doesn’t kill you makes you strong, and I think this is a very strong record…”

If you missed it, rewind on BBC Sounds to 1h37m - 1h46: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000rds6 to hear Steve talking about the album release and its wider themes.

p.s. Anyone want to take a guess at what the bleeped out word is?

SHOW YOUR FACE ADDED TO BBC 6MUSIC PLAYLIST

Well it's just raining good news today...

'Show Your Face' has been added to the BBC Radio 6 Music playlist. It's a pretty big deal having always picked up lots of spot plays from various shows to now have the support of the station and seal of approval for the second album. You'll be able to hear the track played every day from next Monday... It's a huge platform to have the music heard by a whole new audience and reach out to lots of potential new listeners.

THE ART OF LOSING #1 IN AMAZON VINYL CHART

What a mad day! Woke up to discover that The Art of Losing has reached #1 in the Amazon vinyl chart for their hot new releases and #6 in the overall Amazon vinyl chart (sandwiched between David Bowie and Kylie…)

Thank you SO much to everyone who is preordering the album. It may seem a little strange to encourage you to buy something that isn't released until March but all of the retail stores - Amazon, HMV, indie record shops, make decisions about how many copies to order and how much prominence to give a new album based upon preorder sales. So you can see it really DOES matter to how well the album does how much support it gets in the run-up to the actual release.

You can preorder your copy of the Amazon exclusive GOLD vinyl here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08MS5KK4D?pf_rd_r=SKVHAAYGY94NH68SC7SQ&pf_rd_p=7fd6a387-1657-41b5-98d0-70eb16f03c33&pd_rd_r=c1e91e44-1c65-40ad-bb70-ab2a63fc24d5&pd_rd_w=KXHth&pd_rd_wg=Ngvjl&ref_=pd_gw_unk

BBC 6Music & NME Premiere Show Your Face

NME have premiered the powerful new video from The Anchoress directed by JJ Eringa alongside an interview where I talk about Trump, toxic masculinity, stepping into the producer's chair, and roping in the Manics for the second album:

https://www.nme.com/news/music/anchoress-powerful-video-new-single-show-your-face-2807346

‘The Art of Losing’, the second album from Welsh multi-instrumentalist The Anchoress (aka Catherine Anne Davies), will be released on March 5th 2021 (via Kscope). The first single ‘Show Your Face’ is available from today, following its radio premiere by Steve Lamacq on BBC 6 Music; a Depeche Mode flavoured retort to toxic masculinity that features guitar from Manic Street Preachers’ James Dean Bradfield (who also sings a duet on the album) and drums from Sterling Campbell (David Bowie, Duran Duran). 

The new single weaves its dark synth magic following up on her sonically audacious debut, ‘Confessions of A Romance Novelist’, which was named amongst the Guardian critics’ Albums of the Year, nominated for the Welsh Music Prize, named HMV’s Welsh Album of the Year, and won Best Newcomer at the PROG awards. 

Written and produced by Davies, ‘The Art of Losing’ navigates the detritus of death. It’s a record made in the process of trying to climb out of grief about how we make something from the losses in our lives. Written in the aftermath of several years of huge personal loss, the album follows Dylan Thomas’ instruction to “rage against the dying of the light” - and there is nothing “gentle” about its enquiry. Despite the traumatic backdrop to its composition, it is a far from dour affair. Rather, all fourteen tracks create a technicolour eruption of emotions, firmly concerned with how to find purpose in the midst of grief: “Was there some purpose to losing my mind?”, she asks on the album’s title track: “What did you learn when life was unkind..?” 

The new album was written and recorded during an unfeasibly busy few years as Davies found solace and purpose in a range of projects whilst navigating her griefs. Most recently this came via the release of her collaborative album ‘In Memory of My Feelings’ with Bernard Butler (on Pete Paphides’ label Needle Mythology), duetting and touring with the Manic Street Preachers on their thirteenth album ‘Resistance Is Futile’ (which reached #2 in the UK charts), and being personally invited by The Cure’s Robert Smith to perform at his Meltdown Festival. She also brought a new generation of ears to legendary Scottish rock band Simple Minds, where she spent much of the last five years touring the world on keyboards, guitar and additional vocals. She joined the line-up in 2014, appearing on the Big Music (2015) and Walk Between Worlds (2018) albums before departing in 2019 after playing over 400 shows with the band.


THE ART OF LOSING - THE 2ND ALBUM FROM THE ANCHORESS

‘The Art of Losing’, the second album from Welsh multi-instrumentalist The Anchoress (aka Catherine Anne Davies), will be released on March 12th 2021 (via Kscope) on CD, 2LP and deluxe hardback CD limited edition book.

Preorder your copy including limited edition signed bundles here: https://theanchoress.tmstor.es

Written and produced by Davies, ‘The Art of Losing’ navigates the detritus of death. It’s a record made in the process of trying to climb out of grief about how we make something from the losses in our lives. Written in the aftermath of several years of huge personal loss, the album follows Dylan Thomas’ instruction to “rage against the dying of the light” - and there is nothing “gentle” about its enquiry.

Despite the traumatic backdrop to its composition, it is a far from dour affair. Rather, all fourteen tracks create a technicolour eruption of emotions, firmly concerned with how to find purpose in the midst of grief: “Was there some purpose to losing my mind?”, she asks on the album’s title track: “What did you learn when life was unkind..?” 

Preorder here now: https://theanchoress.tmstor.es


In Memory... #14 in the Official Chart & Sunday Times review

The collaborative album with Bernard Butler is currently at #14 in the official albums chart and we are also one of the records of the week in The Sunday Times today! It’s just overwhelming to see all the positive reactions to our ten songs after they have sat on the shelf for so long ❤️🙏🏻

#InMemoryOfMyFeelings is out now on CD, LP & download. Get your copy from all good record shops.

Grab it here: https://orcd.co/in_memory_of_my_feelings

A new record with Bernard Butler

IN MEMORY OF MY FEELINGS
CATHERINE ANNE DAVIES & BERNARD BUTLER

Hi everyone, I know you're all been patiently waiting for album 2 from The Anchoress but while the pandemic put paid to all our plans, I have a little surprise in the meantime.... 

Needle Mythology, the label founded by music writer, author and broadcaster Pete Paphides, will be releasing "In Memory Of My Feelings" on September 18th - a new collaborative record between myself and Bernard Butler that's been quietly waiting in the wings for a while now.  

Featuring ten brand new songs co-written by us both (and two bonus tracks), you can hear the first track "The Breakdown" TODAY on all digital platforms, watch the video, and pre-order your physical copy here: https://orcd.co/in_memory_of_my_feelings

It's really been such a thrill to finally be able to usher this into the wider world. Hopefully it will keep your ears busy until the rescheduled release of Anchoress 2. I’d got used to the idea that this record with Bernard might never emerge. Occasionally, I’d listen to it on my headphones if I was on the bus, and Bernard always had the same thought, “I wish I could go to a record shop and buy this”... And now you can!

AVAILABLE ON CD, HEAVYWEIGHT VINYL PLUS BONUS 7" 
Pre-order here: https://orcd.co/in_memory_of_my_feelings

Catherine x

Reprise 2: The Covers Collection available now on Bandcamp

All four of the Quarantine Covers I’ve been recording during lockdown have now been collected together as one EP - Reprise 2: The Covers Collection, featuring reinterpretations of songs by FKA Twigs, The Beatles, Manic Street Preachers and All About Eve.

Download or stream now only on Bandcamp:  https://iamtheanchoress.bandcamp.com/album/reprise-2-the-covers-collection