The Year 2009

For the first album post the EMI era, Turin Brakes signed to Cooking Vinyl. Coming straight out of the promotion of Bottled At Source, the band embrace the 2010s and get going with a new album of songs. This album marked the first time that the band took some extra time to make the album happen.

Work started all the way back in 2008, with the first recordings happening in October and November 2008.Olly and Gale started working on the new material in their studio called The TB Inc. in Brixton, London.

In an update early 2009 on the official site, the band confirm that 9 songs have been recorded. The band also include the news that they have worked with various artists, including Andy Steele, Lisa Mitchell, Kate Walsh and British pop institute Take That.

In March 2009, Olly announced that 15 songs have been recorded for the new album. Olly described the results so far as “new skool folk flavors aplenty. Sounding raw and right.” In May however, in an interview with Turtle Last Broadcast, the band mentioned they were still recording:

As usual the goalposts shift on every conversation, mood, random comment, change in wind direction, bad/good lunch experience…. I think it’s safe to say it’s new and progressive enough to warrant bothering to make it but we are also trying to re-vitalise an acoustic edge. Using voices where synths used to be and mixing acoustic drums and percussion with electronic pulses, bleeps beeps and crackles. It’s been great having no time pressure from any label, it’s allowing us to really get to the bottom of each track, they are beginning to sound very layered, each one is a journey.

During May 2009, the band played some gigs in Canterbury which featured some new songs: Never Stops, Paper Heart and Sea Change. During the gig Olly mentions a possible January 2010 release. A week later, Olly shared on Twitter: “managed to pretty much finish off the tracks last night! Listening through them this morning is a buzz, nearly two years work! Next Mixing.”

Recordings were finished during the Summer of 2009, with the band mixing the album in July with Al Stone (who worked on The Optimist LP). Olly posts a picture on Twitter of Gale and Al Stone (The Optimist) mixing a song called Will Power.

In an interview in August, the band reveals the working title of the album, Outbursts. In September, the band once again express their desire to release the album early in 2010, with talks to a label happening at that moment.

In October 2009, the album is mastered by Frank Arkwright (who also mastered The Optimist LP) and the tracklist is leaked on Twitter by Olly:

  1. Sea Change
  2. Mirror
  3. Rocket Song
  4. Paper Heart
  5. The Invitation
  6. Will Power
  7. Apocolips
  8. Embryos
  9. Never Stops
  10. The Letting Down
  11. Radio Silence
  12. Outbursts

The official announcement of the album takes place on the first of December 2009: it will be released on Cooking Vinyl in March 2010.

1 comment on “The Year 2009

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