First album from Saint Etienne since 2012's 'Words and Music by Saint Etienne.' It will be released in June 2017, official release date to be confirmed.
The album is supposedly inspired at least in part by Brexit, and will be titled 'Home Counties,' a reference to Pete Wiggs, Sarah Cracknell and Stanley’s origins in Chelmsford, Reigate and Horsham respectively.
Bob Stanley: “We are all from there and I am interested in how the whole of Britain feels odd. The lyrical inspiration was Brexit, going to towns like Amersham during the referendum campaign which had Leave posters everywhere, then coming back to London where it’s completely different. You think ‘this feels really odd’.”
The album was recorded at Snap Studio in Finsbury Park which has a collection of vintage keyboards guitars and effects pedals that they enjoyed playing with.
“I have always thought of myself as an amateur. I am not a trained musician, I am a journalist, I keep that in the back of my mind,” says Stanley referring to the band’s trademark sampling technique.
“I write with computers. We don’t sit down with a guitar and write a song like Paul Simon. It’s more about how the production sounds.”
The album will be released on CD and Vinyl but not until June because “vinyl is so popular the pressing plants are at full capacity”.