{"title":"Spiritualized","description":"\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eSongs in A\u0026amp;E\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e is a beautiful, chilling record and it was very nearly the last thing J Spaceman would ever release.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eIn 2005, with the writing and recording well underway, Spaceman was rushed to the Royal London Infirmary with double pneumonia. The sleeve of this reissue is a photograph taken as he lay in what his close friends and family feared at the time was his deathbed. “We thought he’d gone,” recalled band mate John Coxon at the time.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe album is collection of graceful, country-influenced songs that muse on familiar themes of love, death, hope and hopelessness.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe country element was informed by a small black 1928 Gibson acoustic he’d bought in Cincinnati while the band toured the \u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAmazing Grace\u003c\/em\u003e record. Spaceman called it “The Devil”. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eJ Spaceman: “Mostly, when you buy a guitar, like most things, you don't really have any idea of whether it's good or not. And this shop had about eight of the same models for comparison, but this one was in a cage, to keep people away from it, like they knew it was kind of special. And it's beautiful. It just sings. And it kind of came with those songs, which is obviously a sort of romantic notion, but it really felt like it did. I'd never written on a guitar until this point and it seemed to come with all of this information.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAfter the songs poured out of the guitar, he recorded most of what you hear in Nottingham.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAnd while Spiritualized devotees will be used to listening to the beautiful darkness of his words, the fact that he wrote these things before he got sick only serve to make them more impactful.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eTake for instance Death, Take Your Fiddle, his play on Townes Van Zandt’s Waiting Around to Die. It’s a song built around a loop of stilted breathing through a ventilator.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e“I think I’ll drink myself into a coma and I’ll take any pill that I can find \/ cos morphine, codeine, whiskey they won’t alter \/ the way I feel now death is not around.”\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThey’re the words of a protagonist not so much waiting around to die as one who’s disappointed that he didn’t. A bluesman so saddened and beaten down by the struggles of his life that he misses the moments where mortality hung in the balance. The cold victory of death eluded him this time but he’ll keep trying.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe recovery process for Spaceman was hard. Weighing just 85 pounds at 5’ 10”, he had to find the physical and creative strength to finish the record, and this came not only in the form of friends and family, but also by working on other projects, most notably his collaboration with Harmony Korine (he wrote soundtrack music for his Mister Lonely film). His eventual return to the stage come later when he played with Spiritualized guitarist Tony Foster at a Daniel Johnston tribute show in London, the two performing a cover of Johnston’s Funeral Home.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e“I was under weight and fragile and this was a gentle way of getting back on stage. It wasn’t my show for a start, and it was a small band, just myself on acoustic and Tony on Fender Rhodes but it turned out to be really beautiful. Originally it was just going to be the two of us, but we ended up getting the strings and the girls' choir and because it worked, it led to other things.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eWhat followed was a string of Acoustic Mainline shows which opened with a song from A\u0026amp;E called Sitting on Fire. The album version is one of the most intimate vocal performances he’s ever delivered. It’s another plea to be released: “\u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eSet me free \/ ‘Cos I do believe \/ It’ll burn up in me \/ For the rest of my life”\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eBut if you seek them out, there are bootleg versions of this online from the Acoustic Mainline shows where the voice is different. It’s somebody who’s not well, but they’re recovering. They’re keeping on going.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThese shows and the life lived before and after hospitalization all informed the final record. It sounds like dying and coming back to life; from the bleakest despair to the highest beauty on songs like Soul On Fire and the opiated ballads of Waves Crash In and Don’t Hold Me Close (where the backing vocals come from Harmony’s wife Rachel Korine). There are also garage songs like I Gotta Fire and You Lie You Cheat; super ragged, like a howling 70s Iggy.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e“I remember saying at the time, “ he concludes, “that I felt like people who have these kinds of experiences become more charitable. They change or whatever. But I think I came back partly to the same disappointing person I was before. And sometimes I still feel the same. But a lot of people worked really hard to get me out of there and I also realized just how lucky I was.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe final song on Songs In A\u0026amp;E is a lullaby called Goodnight, Goodnight. It’s a song of comfort and hope but it ends up with a line from a song by Daniel Johnston that Jason performed the time he first got back on stage. “Funeral home.... Funeral Home.... Funeral Home.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAndy Capper, 2024\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"sweet-heart-sweet-light","title":"Sweet Heart Sweet Light","description":"\u003cp\u003ePierce is still using large orchestras and choirs to take his Robert Johnson blues way past the crossroads, to vistas that are as endless as they are empty. He's still singing his own rock'n'roll gospel: Jesus, fast cars, girls named Jane and Mary, pimps, death, fire, freedom, and God all show up, giving life to Pierce's alternate-universe Eden, inhabited by Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, self-loathing, and a spitty syringe. He's still his own genre-- this tiny voice elevated by the super-church-sized arrangements in his head. \"I want to make music that catches all the glory and beauty and magnificence, but also the intimacy and fragility, all within the space of the same 10 seconds,\" Pierce has said. It's a mad goal. But it's also an inherently intriguing and universal one, just as ancient myths or Biblical tales can be. Pierce isn't religious, but he uses Christian language and figures as a thematic shorthand. \"As you have a conversation about Jesus, you know you're talking to him about how it is to be fallible and question yourself and your morals,\" he told me. \"When I sing, 'Help me, Jesus,' you know I'm not asking for help fixing the fucking car.\" Such an all-or-nothing attitude is risky, but that's the whole point. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePierce mixed Sweet Heart over eight drawn-out months under something of a drug-induced stupor. But it wasn't the kind of drug-induced stupor Pierce is known for. At the time, he was being hit with experimental chemotherapy treatments to combat a degenerative liver disease. (Three doctors are thanked in the liner notes; Pierce is apparently OK now.) During this album's creation, the singer referred to it as Huh?-- a nod to his jumbled mental state. All of which would make one assume that Sweet Heart would be messy, fucked-up, and completely depressing. That is not the case. This is probably the most uplifting album of his career.- Ryan Dombal Pitchfork.com 8.8\/10\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1. Huh (Intro)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2. Hey Jane \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3. Little Girl  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4. Get What You Deserve \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5. Too Late \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e6. Headin' for the Top Now  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e7. Freedom \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e8. I Am What I Am \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e9. Mary \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e10. Life Is a Problem \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e11. So Long You Pretty Thing\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Spiritualized","offers":[{"title":"Double Vinyl","offer_id":2814700227,"sku":"FP1263-1","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Compact Disc","offer_id":2814700163,"sku":"FP1263-2","price":13.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0658\/8461\/files\/spiritualized_huh.png?v=1704908750"},{"product_id":"and-nothing-hurt","title":"And Nothing Hurt","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe long awaited new album from \u003cstrong\u003eSpiritualized\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the opening lullaby of “A Perfect Miracle” through to the Morse Code fadeout at the close of “Sail on Through,” Spiritualized wrap layer upon layer of gloriously transcendent sound together to create a mesmerizing and cinematic collection of songs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are points where the waves of blissful noise are almost overwhelming – the thunderous climax of “On the Sunshine”; the spectral waltz of “The Prize”; the towering guitar solo on “I’m Your Man” – where one can imagine the studio’s speakers vibrating themselves off of the walls. Which is an incredible feat when you discover that the album was conceived and recorded almost entirely by one man – Jason Pierce, AKA J.Spaceman – in an upstairs room in his east London home. Sat in an edit suite in Whitechapel a month or so after finishing recording, Jason talks honestly about the painstaking, frustrating process of creating And Nothing Hurt.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Making this record on my own sent me more mad than anything I’ve done before. We’d been playing these big shows and I really wanted to capture that sound we were making, but without having the funds to do so, I had to find a way to work within the constraints of what money I had. So I bought a laptop and made it all in a little room in my house.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhereas bedroom recording is commonplace for a generation of musicians who’ve grown up with horizon-expanding tech, Spiritualized have long used the studio as they would an extra member of the band – as a vital building block in the construction of some of the most cherished records of the modern era. This time would be very different. With no grounding in digital recording, Jason had to learn everything from scratch.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“The biggest thing for me was to try to make it sound like a studio session. But I was new to it all, I didn’t have all the short cuts people use as when they’re making records – I just sat there for weeks… for months… moving every level up bit by bit just to try to get the sounds right.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor the listener, the nine tracks on And Nothing Hurt effortlessly replicate the scale and power of Spiritualized’s previous releases, whether it’s the sonic blowback of “On the Sunshine,” the last dime in the jukebox love letter of “Let’s Dance” or the swell of an imaginary orchestra that seems to lift “Damaged” towards the heavens as it plays out.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“With a bit of trial and lot of error, I found ways of doing something that’s quite simple if you’ve got the resources. I spent two weeks listening to classical records and strumming the chord that I wanted on my guitar. When I found something to match what I wanted, I’d sample that bit and go for the next chord and try to match that. It took weeks, trying to put together and layer convincing string sounds. But, if I’m honest, all I wanted was for someone to come and play the part and bring their own thing to the record”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLyrically, And Nothing Hurt touches on thoughts of passing time and acceptance of one’s age – never more beautifully than on “Let’s Dance.” “I didn’t want to be fighting against my age; it’s very much about acceptance. And not with any dissatisfaction either – I’m not raging against the inevitable. I spent a lot of time thinking about the way that the songs should hold together, trying to make the narratives make sense rather than just throwing together a couple of lines that rhymed.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDuring the making of And Nothing Hurt, Jason kept returning to the thought that this would be the last Spiritualized record – interviews over the last couple of years made it clear that the frustration of trying to replicate the sounds in his head were proving too much. With the record finally finished, does he feel the same way now?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“I was quite sincere about that and I still feel like it might be the case. It was such hard work. I found myself going crazy for so long. It’s not like there’s no coming back, I’m fine now… it’s just such a hard thing to do, to make a record like this on your own. It’s almost as if, if I’m not pushing myself to point of madness, it’s not going to be right. I think the biggest goal is to make something that’s worthy of all that time and effort. And the more time and effort, the bigger the goal. I knew I had to make something that was good enough that it should be made. And a massive positive about making the record is that we get to play it live. That’s always the most joyous thing; this amazing thing that seems to come right through the roof.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAnd Nothing Hurt\u003c\/em\u003e will be released \u003cstrong\u003eSeptember 7th\u003c\/strong\u003e via Fat Possum.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAnd Nothing Hurt tracklist:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1. A Perfect Miracle\u003cbr\u003e 2. I’m Your Man\u003cbr\u003e 3. Here It Comes (The Road) Let’s Go\u003cbr\u003e 4. Let’s Dance\u003cbr\u003e 5. On The Sunshine\u003cbr\u003e 6. Damaged\u003cbr\u003e 7. The Morning After\u003cbr\u003e 8. The Prize\u003cbr\u003e 9. Sail On Through\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Spiritualized","offers":[{"title":"Vinyl","offer_id":39814950977649,"sku":"FP1675-1","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Compact Disc","offer_id":39814951010417,"sku":"FP1675-2","price":13.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":12123493662833,"sku":"FP1675D","price":9.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0658\/8461\/products\/black_lp_mockup.jpg?v=1699990030"},{"product_id":"lazer-guided-melodies","title":"Lazer Guided Melodies","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Spaceman Reissue Program edition of \u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eLazer Guided Melodies\u003c\/em\u003e promises to give those recordings the fullest spectrum audio and physical treatment they’ve deserved since 1992. It will be the first in this series of 180g double albums mastered from a half speed lacquer cut from original sources by Alchemy Mastering, presented in a gatefold jacket adorned by reworked art by Mark Farrow, and available in both a standard black vinyl pressing and limited edition white vinyl\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv dir=\"ltr\"\u003eTracklist:\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv dir=\"ltr\"\u003e01. You Know It's True\u003cbr\u003e02. If I Were With Her Now\u003cbr\u003e03. I Want You\u003cbr\u003e04. Run\u003cbr\u003e05. Smiles\u003cbr\u003e06. Step Into The Breeze\u003cbr\u003e07. Symphony Space\u003cbr\u003e08. Take Your Time\u003cbr\u003e09. Shine A Light\u003cbr\u003e10. Angel Sigh\u003cbr\u003e11. Sway\u003cbr\u003e12. 200 Bars\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Spiritualized","offers":[{"title":"White Double Vinyl","offer_id":32321767538801,"sku":"FP1751-3","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Black Double Vinyl","offer_id":32321767571569,"sku":"FP1751-1","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Compact Disc","offer_id":32321767604337,"sku":"FP1751-2","price":14.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0658\/8461\/products\/WHITEVINYLMOCKUP.jpg?v=1705433467"},{"product_id":"pure-phase","title":"Pure Phase","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\n\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe Spaceman Reissue Program edition of \u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ePure Phase \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003epromises to give those recordings the fullest spectrum audio and physical treatment they’ve deserved since 1992. It will be the second in this series, following \u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eLazer Guided Melodies\u003c\/i\u003e, with 180g double albums with lacquer cut from original sources by Alchemy Mastering, presented in a gatefold jacket adorned by reworked art by Mark Farrow, and available in both a standard black vinyl pressing and limited edition glow-in-the-dark vinyl, as well as CD.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv dir=\"ltr\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv dir=\"ltr\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv dir=\"ltr\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\n\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eTracklist\u003c\/b\u003e:\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv dir=\"ltr\" data-smartmail=\"gmail_signature\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv dir=\"ltr\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e1. Medication\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv dir=\"ltr\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e2. The Slide Song\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv dir=\"ltr\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e3. Electric Phase\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv dir=\"ltr\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e4. All Of My Tears\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv dir=\"ltr\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e5. These Blues\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv dir=\"ltr\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e6. Let It Flow\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e7. Take Good Care Of It\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e8. Born, Never Asked\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e9. Electric Mainline\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e10. Lay Back In The Sun\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e11. Good Times\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e12. Pure Phase\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e13. Spread Your Wings\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e14. Feel Like Goin' Home\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Spiritualized","offers":[{"title":"Black Double Vinyl","offer_id":39338809491569,"sku":"FP1752-1","price":29.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Compact Disc","offer_id":39338809524337,"sku":"FP1752-2","price":14.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"MP3","offer_id":39341014581361,"sku":"FP1752-D","price":9.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0658\/8461\/products\/PPGITDVINYLMOCKUP.jpg?v=1700161210"},{"product_id":"ladies-and-gentlemen-we-are-floating-in-space","title":"Ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eSpiritualized’s most celebrated album, and Kate Radley’s last as a member, the core line up added Damon Reece on drums as well as featuring contributions from Dr John, the London Community Gospel Choir, B.J Cole and 19 technical personnel. It took its title from a passage in Joystein Gaarder’s novel “Sophie’s World”, where a young girl attempts to define the meaning of life by travelling through time and space, meeting the world’s great philosophers.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJason: “We went out to America ahead of recording this record. John had joined on guitar and I’d recorded the title track and a number of other demos that ended up on the finished record.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut we got to play Cop Shoot Cop and Electricity live and to work them out before we recorded them for the record and then John became integral to the band. He came from a world of Syl Johnson and Al Green, Teenie Hodges and Reggie Young; a different world within the guitar lines. And then there was Kate (Radley)’s hugely influential keyboard that was relentless and loud. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI like Pure Phase the best of these four records, but people still say Ladies and Gentlemen is where everything kind of came together. I’m still astounded by both records, where they don’t let up. There’s no kind of curfew. Or no “you can’t stay on that section for that length of time”. They sit on where they arrive and stay there, and I found that kind of amazing.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe abstract parts were just as beautiful as these kind of pop \/ simplistic nursery rhyme ideas and they were no less important. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI went all over the place to make it. I went to Memphis to see (country recording legend) Jim Dickinson for two weeks I think. Parts of his recordings are in there but by the time I finished, I had all these different mixes. There was very little that was one single mix. There were some mixes from the old A\u0026amp;M studio on La Brea in Los Angeles. Part of the reason that I’ve never received any royalties from any of these records is that I was always thinking, ‘Well where should I go now?’ Suddenly, the move from Rugby to London was small-time compared with “well can I do this in L.A, can I do it in Memphis, can I do it again?” And then “Can I fly out to New York and put Dr John on the record?” \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith Dr John, I just wrote a letter, sent the track and his response was immediate. He said “absolutely, absolutely, love it.“ It was where he wanted to be. I was completely in awe of him and his playing and everything he put to it. I could hardly speak, to be honest. Not that I needed to speak much. It didn’t add anything little or less to the proceedings. It was an amazing session, amazing to do.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Spiritualized","offers":[{"title":"Black Double Vinyl","offer_id":50474828661031,"sku":"FP1753-0","price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Neptune Blue Double Vinyl","offer_id":39458148810865,"sku":"FP1753-4","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Compact Disc","offer_id":39458148876401,"sku":"FP1753-2","price":14.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0658\/8461\/files\/SpiritualizedL_GFP1753-0-MockupLP-2LPBlack.jpg?v=1759266531"},{"product_id":"let-it-come-down","title":"Let It Come Down","description":"\u003cp\u003eSpiritualized's album Let It Come Down available to buy from Fat Possum Records.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Spiritualized","offers":[{"title":"Ivory Double Vinyl","offer_id":39517659594865,"sku":"FP1754-3","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Black Double Vinyl","offer_id":39517659627633,"sku":"FP1754-1","price":29.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Compact Disc","offer_id":39517659660401,"sku":"FP1754-2","price":14.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0658\/8461\/products\/LICD_Ivory_VINYL_MOCKUP.jpg?v=1699568054"},{"product_id":"everything-was-beautiful","title":"Everything Was Beautiful","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eWhile some people imploded in the lockdowns and isolation of the epidemic, others were thriving. “I felt like I’d been in training for this my whole life” says J Spaceman.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eHe was referring to his fondness for isolation and when you reframe loneliness as “beautiful solitude” then it isn’t so bad. He would walk through an empty “Roman London” where “even the sirens had stopped singing” and where the world was “full of birdsong and strangeness and no contrails.” He used the birdsong walks to listen and try and make sense of all the music playing in his head. The mixes of his new record, a ninth studio album, weren’t working out yet. \u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eSpaceman plays 16 different instruments on Everything Was Beautiful which was put down at 11 different studios, as well as at his home. He also employed more than 30 musicians and singers including his daughter Poppy, long-time collaborator and friend John Coxon, string and brass sections, choirs and finger bells and chimes from the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. So there’s a lot going on. \u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e“There was so much information on it that the slightest move would unbalance it, but going around in circles is important to me. Not like you’re spiraling out of control but you’re going around and around and on each revolution you hold onto the good each time. Sure, you get mistakes as well, but you hold on to some of those too and that’s how you kind of... achieve. Well, you get there.”  \u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eEventually, the mixes got there and Everything Was Beautiful was achieved. The result is some of the most “live” sounding recordings that Spiritualized have released since the Live At The Albert Hall record of 1998, around the time of Ladies \u0026amp; Gentlemen, We Are Floating In Space. \u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe opening track “Always Together With You” is a reworking \/ supercharging of a track originally released in demo quality in 2014. This new version is a perfect Spiritualized song; a breathtaking, hard edged, psychedelic pop tune where themes of high romance and space travel collide.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe artwork is designed once again with Mark Farrow. If you buy the vinyl you can pop a pill box out of the sleeve, revealing gold foil underneath, and assemble the Braille-embossed little thing and put it somewhere in the house. The box set has 8 of them. Literally a boxset. It looks more beautiful in the flesh. “Farrow and I were talking about what we should do and we just said, ‘It’s called Everything Is Beautiful, how could you not have a pill?’” \u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAll these layers, all these details, the year-long mixes, the making sense of it all and the lives lived within these lyrics; for somebody so famously unconfident of his own abilities, isn't this a punishing thing to keep doing? “Yeah, but I like what I do. There’s a line from Jonathan Meades that’s about having all the attributes to being an artist. ‘Paranoia, vanity, selfishness, egotism, sycophancy, resentment, moral nullity and more idiot than idiot savant.’ “And that's what it feels like, this kind of thing. You’re your own worst enemy and biggest supporter. “There's a ‘Of course this is worth it. It's me’ and then this kind of deep doubt of ‘What the fuck is this all about?’ “And then ‘Why is it important?’ and then knowing there's no easy answer. But it's there. I know it's there.”","brand":"Spiritualized","offers":[{"title":"Deluxe Pink Vinyl","offer_id":39575138009201,"sku":"FP1716-4","price":27.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Black Vinyl","offer_id":39575138041969,"sku":"FP1716-1","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Compact Disc","offer_id":39575138074737,"sku":"FP1716-2","price":13.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0658\/8461\/files\/Spiritualized-EverythingWasBeautiful-MockupLPPink.jpg?v=1739197515"},{"product_id":"amazing-grace","title":"Amazing Grace","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eSpiritualized\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e and \u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eFat Possum Records \u003c\/b\u003etoday announce the reissue of \u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAmazing Grace\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003eon \u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e19th\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eJanuary 2024 \u003c\/b\u003eas part of the second volume of \u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe Spaceman Reissue Program: Curated by J Spaceman. \u003c\/b\u003eRemastered for vinyl in London by engineer Matt Colton, the 180 gram album features lacquer cuts by \u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eMetropolis Mastering\u003c\/b\u003e, presented in a gatefold jacket designed by \u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eMark Farrow\u003c\/b\u003e. It will be available in both a standard black vinyl pressing and limited edition dove grey vinyl.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"Spiritualized","offers":[{"title":"Dove Grey Double Vinyl","offer_id":46758259360039,"sku":"FP1827-3","price":29.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Black Double Vinyl","offer_id":46758259392807,"sku":"FP1827-1","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Compact Disc","offer_id":46758259425575,"sku":"FP1827-2","price":14.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0658\/8461\/files\/Spiritualized-AmazingGrace-MockupLP-DoveGrey.jpg?v=1699564661"},{"product_id":"songs-in-a-e","title":"Songs in A\u0026E","description":"\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eSpiritualized\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e and \u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eFat Possum Records\u003c\/b\u003e today \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eannounce the reissue of \u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eSongs in A\u0026amp;E\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003eout \u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e21st\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eJune. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e latest installment of The Spaceman Reissue Program: Curated by J\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/b\u003eSpaceman\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eSongs in A\u0026amp;E \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e– completed in the aftermath of J Spaceman’s near death hospitalization - is a collection of graceful, country-influenced songs that circle on familiar themes of love, death, hope and hopelessness.\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/b\u003eThe reissue has been remastered for vinyl by Matt Colton at Metropolis Studios and features revamped artwork, including a new album cover.\u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"Spiritualized","offers":[{"title":"Green Double Vinyl","offer_id":48111374106919,"sku":"FP1828-3","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Black Double Vinyl","offer_id":48111374139687,"sku":"FP1828-1","price":33.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Compact Disc","offer_id":48111374172455,"sku":"FP1828-2","price":14.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0658\/8461\/files\/Spiritualized-A_E-MockupLP.jpg?v=1713209951"},{"product_id":"music-for-williams-egglestons-stranded-in-canton","title":"Music for Williams Eggleston's Stranded in Canton","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eSpiritualized’s\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eJ Spaceman \u003c\/b\u003eand\u003cb\u003e John Coxon \u003c\/b\u003ehave announced \u003cb\u003eMusic for William Eggleston’s \u003ci\u003e\u003cspan class=\"il\"\u003eStranded\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ein Canton\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003c\/b\u003ean instrumental score of Eggleston’s\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e1970s art film, out \u003cb\u003eOctober 18th via Fat Possum\u003c\/b\u003e. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN\"\u003eIn 2015, Spaceman, Coxon, and friends performed a new original score live at a special film screening at the Barbican Gallery in London. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe recording sat on a shelf for 10 years, and will finally be unveiled through this release.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"il\"\u003eStranded\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ein Canton\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN\"\u003e is a black-and-white film portrait of Memphis in 1974, shot in bars and on street corners, showing Eggleston’s friends carousing, playing music and firing pistols into the night sky. 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