After the enormous critical praise behind her recent studio album ‘Already, Always‘ released last year, which featured in The Independent’s 40 Best Albums Of 2021 and METRO’s Top 50 Albums Of The Year, as well as BBC 6Music crowning it Album Of The Day on release and playlisting the singles ‘Co-op‘, ‘All You Can Do‘, and ‘How Do You Leave‘, Bess Atwell continues the support for her eagerly-awaited remix EP ‘Already, Rearranged‘ with the newly unveiled Chartreuse re-edit of ‘Nobody’.
Marking the final preview of the new collection, the Chartreuse re-edit of ‘Nobody’, perfectly illustrates the experimental nature Bess has looked to project throughout its run-up. Capturing a warm and atmospheric nature, elegantly spliced with her own haunted vocal style, it completely transforms the humble original into a broad and sprawling electronic masterpiece.
Adding about the new re-edit, Bess said, “Mike from Chartreuse managed to turn this simple folk song into a James Blake-esque, dark, disconcerting collage that really capitalises on the darkness of the lyrics. I’m very attached to the original, so it’s to Mike’s credit that he was able to turn it inside out and upside down without losing me along the way! It was such an unexpected interpretation and I really love it.”
Featuring the previously unveiled Billie Marten x Ellie Mason re-edit of ‘How Do You Leave’ and Igor Haefeli’s (Daughter) re-edit of ‘Time Comes In Roses’, as well as notable additions from Tony Njoku, Liz Lawrence, and even Bess herself on a new rendition of ‘Red Light Heaven’, ‘Already, Rearranged’ looks to bring a more diverse and broadened light to her highly-praised studio album.
Adding about the conception about the EP, Bess Atwell said, “When we decided to do a remix EP I never imagined we’d create something I’m so proud of and excited to share. I’m a fan of every artist involved in this project and I wanted them to have total creative freedom and to showcase their own perspectives on the songs. Considering I gave them no brief at all, Im all the more proud of what we created and the tracks as a cohesive body of work.
Earlier this year Bess featured as one of the artists selected by BBC 6Music’s Steve Lamacq to perform as part of Independent Venues Week (other artists selected included Yard Act, Wet Leg, Franz Ferdinand), as well as performing two live stripped back tracks and an interview on his show.
Featuring the singles ‘Co-op‘, ‘All You Can Do‘, ‘Nobody‘, ‘Time Comes In Roses‘ and ‘Red Light Heaven Already, Always‘ was released in September 2021. While on the surface some would see it as a break-up record, the album itself is more about the deeper relationships that many of us experience throughout our lives, and how brittle and disconnected they can become over time.
A release that focuses on loss, love, life, and death, Bess Atwell has taken the opportunity behind this album to create something that not only reflects who she is upon us, but also allows us to see ourselves in her.
There is comfort in the familiar. Yet it is precisely when we are most comfortable that we begin to ask questions. Artist Bess Atwell is full of questions: on life, death, love, loss… and how things that at first seem mundane become profound when looked at in a different light.
On her sensational album, ‘Already, Always’, Atwell offers one of the most assured records by a British artist in years. Released via Lucy Rose’s Communion imprint Real Kind Records, it focuses heavily on Atwell’s own experiences yet has a universal appeal – demonstrated already by the support from the BBC’s 6music, and millions of streams of Atwell’s earlier, self released, singles. “What I really care about is people listening to this album and saying, ‘God, I feel like I know her,'” the Brighton-based artist explains. “I wanted to illustrate, not just the romance in relationships, but that bit that comes afterwards.”