Having announced a string of European festival dates this summer, the legendary British musician and poet, and i-D cover star, PJ Harvey has now announced her ninth studio album, titled The Hope Six Demolition Project, slated for release on 15 April.
The announcement is made with a teaser video, above, previewing two new songs, with lyrics referring to areas PJ Harvey has visited in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Washington DC. Harvey has again collaborated with Seamus Murphy, the documentary war photographer who turned music video maker for her 2011 album, Let England Shake, creating films for all 12 tracks.
“When I’m writing a song I visualise the entire scene. I can see the colours, I can tell the time of day, I can sense the mood, I can see the light changing, the shadows moving, everything in that picture. Gathering information from secondary sources felt too far removed for what I was trying to write about. I wanted to smell the air, feel the soil and meet the people of the countries I was fascinated with,” PJ Harvey says of the album, and these trips and tales can be felt on the two tracks previewed: The Community of Hope and The Wheels.
The Community of Hope references the Hope VI demolition projects in the US, where run-down public housing in areas with high crime rates has been demolished to make room for better housing, but with the effect that many previous residents could no longer afford to live there, leading to claims of social cleansing. The Wheel, appears to reference the disappearance of 28,000 children, with fans guessing online that this refers to figures from Kosovo.
The Hope Six Demolition Project is out 15 April on Island Records.
Credits
Text Charlotte Gush
Photography Maria Mochinacz