Today sees pop/rock outfit Deaf Havana release their hotly tipped album, The Present Is A Foreign Land. Spanning 12 tracks written and performed entirely by brothers James and Matty Veck-Gilodi, the album explores themes such as imposter syndrome, conquering arduous life obstacles and self-discovery. These include previously released singles Nevermind, On The Wire, Kids and Going Clear, plus the unheard Pocari Sweat, 19 Dreams, I Put You Through Hell, Trying Falling, Someone/Somewhere featuring duo IDER, Help, title track The Present Is A Foreign Land and Remember Me. Listen here, and watch the brand new music video for Someone/Somewhere here.
The band have explained, “We’re just incredibly excited to be releasing The Present is a Foreign Land today. It’s a record that means a huge amount to us, and I can’t really believe that it’s finally going to be out in the world! We put a lot of ourselves into making it and as a result we’ve never been prouder of our music. I hope people connect with it and love it because we really do.”
The official music video is a striking visual, with director and long-time collaborator Jon Stone saying, “lust and longing combine and combat with explosive effect in the video which aims to capture the chaos of emotion that James has beautifully expressed in his lyrics. The video is a hypnotic exploration of the maelstrom of emotions in a relationship founded in desperation and grief.”
In 2020, Deaf Havana were ready to go their separate ways after a decade together, but then the pandemic hit and they had no choice but to stop. Despite the band making the tough decision to call it a day, Matty continued to write songs and it was this that brought him and brother James back together after a turbulent few months. The two-piece decided to continue as Deaf Havana, and holed themselves up in a studio in Hastings with producer Mike Horner (Hot Chip, Jess Glynne, YONAKA and more). The result is The Present Is A Foreign Land; a mature and accomplished body of work.
The band kick off a string of instore shows in celebration of the release of their album, The Present Is A Foreign Land, tonight. The first show is in Kingston at Banquet Records, and will hit stops in Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield and Southampton before finishing up at Brighton’s Resident Records on 21st July. Deaf Havana also recently announced the long-awaited news of a UK headline tour. They will kick things off at Cardiff’s Tramshed on 8th November, making their way around venues in Nottingham, Manchester and at London’s Roundhouse on 12th November, before wrapping things up in Glasgow at SWG3 on 14th November. Tickets available here.
Deaf Havana headlined the Rock Sound stage at Slam Dunk Festival last month, to a packed out crowd. The band will headline their second festival of the year, at Burn It Down Festival in Torquay, on Saturday 3rd September. The pair were invited by Don Broco to support them at London’s historic Royal Albert Hall in March, on behalf of Teenage Cancer Trust and shortly before this, the duo made a triumphant return to the stage at a sold out intimate show at Lafayette in London.
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