Gary Barlow announces new single and album

Gary Barlow returns with ‘Music Played By Humans’, his first solo album in seven years since 2013’s double-platinum ‘Since I Saw You Last.’ The album is an ode to the sounds of Gary’s childhood, the orchestral and big band music which captured his imagination and eventually led to this album of original compositions. Recorded with a full 80-piece orchestra, ‘Music Played By Humans’ blends a multitude of eclectic sounds and styles to deliver one of the most exciting albums of the year.

‘Music Played By Humans’ is released on 27th November. Pre-order the album here.

The album leads with the Latin inspired single ‘Elita’ featuring Michael Bublé and Colombian star Sebastián Yatra and also features collaborations with stars from around the world including James Corden, Barry Manilow, Chilly Gonzales, Alisha Dixon, Beverley Knight, Ibrahim Maalouf and Avishai Cohen.

“My ambition when we started this album,” said Gary, “was to create something really bright, a celebration of music and the wonderful musicians we have in the UK and around the world. Some of it is recorded with an orchestra, some with quartets, a Latin band, and some of the tracks have jazz and big band sections – it really is music played by people, hence the title of the album – Music Played By Humans.”

Gary Barlow wanted to bring together a group of musicians and collaborators, some perhaps a surprise to his audience, in an album brimming with flavour, emotion and a big, beautiful sound.

“This is the first album I’ve made that’s really given me the opportunity to collaborate with this calibre of musicians on my songs, and they’re all so different in their own right. ‘Elita’ began as a duet with Michael until he suggested bringing Sebastián onto the record and that gave the song a whole new dynamic. ‘The Kind Of Friend I Need’ with Corden was just fun to record from the beginning – it’s a warm, good-humoured, funny song that really celebrates British humour – in a northern way!”

On ‘Eleven’, Gary teams ups with French-Lebanese jazz trumpeter and composer Ibrahim Maalouf; Avishai Cohen, the acclaimed jazz musician who Gary is a longtime fan of, features on ‘Before We Get Too Old’; and the GRAMMY Award-winning pianist and all-round entertainer, Chilly Gonzales appears on ‘Oh What A Day’. British vocal powerhouse Beverely Knight lends her inimitable style to ‘Enough and Enough’ and on ‘What’s Leaving All About’ Alesha Dixon duets with Gary to muse the breakdown of a relationship. Longterm friend and legendary performer, Barry Manilow plays the piano on the aptly titled ‘You Make The Sun Shine’, a gloriously upbeat number guaranteed to bring a smile to faces.

“Looking back, little did I realise how poignant this album would be in a time now that orchestras can’t sit in a room together. We finished our last session 2 weeks before lockdown and when I listen to the album now, it brings back some great memories. We have some of the best musicians in the world in London…and they’re on my recordings – I’m so lucky.”

‘Music Played By Humans’, the new solo album by Gary Barlow, is out 27th November.

Tracklisting: