Assembling a network of collaborators, ex-Level 42 drummer and songwriter, Phil Gould returns with ‘Beautiful Wounds’ – the first single and title track of his new solo album – out via Abbey Records.
With intimate layers of rich, front and centre production, ‘Beautiful Wounds’ is a reflection on life’s struggles and how the scars we pick up along the way enhance our humanity, rather than detract from it. Amplifying Italian singer Diana Winter’s beckoning vocal, each instrument appears superimposed and pronounced without sounding overwhelming or crowded. The audible blank space only serves to compliment the mix as Gould asserts less is more on a masterful first offering.
Directed by Sarah Scherer, a renowned Vienna based actress & film maker, ‘Beautiful Wounds’ is visually captured through a stunning interpretive music video.
Phil Gould: “Given the parlous state of the world it feels important to remind ourselves of the beauty that comes with our humanity, with all our foibles, our failures, our struggles, our demons and despite (or even because of) the scars we carry from the lives we’ve lived until now. We are all made more beautiful, more human by the wounds we pick up along the way. Often the damage that’s done to us, or we do to ourselves, is the basis of our compassion for others.”
Phil Gould is an internationally acclaimed drummer, composer and lyricist who is most recognised for being a founding member of the much-celebrated British jazz-funk outfit, Level 42. Alongside the band’s original line-up (Mark King, Mike Lindup, Boon Gould and Wally Badarou being an unofficial fifth member) they recorded seven studio albums and one live album, achieving widespread acclaim across Europe and North America.
Following the many successes achieved by the band, Phil decided to take his own solo route, spending his time raising his family whilst exploring other music genres, collaborating with myriads of talented artists and continuing to write, away from the pressure of a major touring band. Now having finished his second solo album, and his first signed project since 2009’s Watertight, Phil is finally ready for the world to hear his new music.
“This album is the realisation of a number of different approaches to collaborative music making” says Phil, “moving from country to country, either physically or via the internet, with contributions from friends in the UK, France, Germany, Austria, Italy & North America, dialling into the finer points of production while also allowing the players on each track the room to breathe, and taking the better part of six months to mix the results, often figuring out what was and what wasn’t necessary in the process.”
‘Beautiful Wounds’ promises to be an exciting new era for an artist poised to make an unforgettable sonic transition.
