Ride and Oasis’ Andy Bell announces debut album

From the NME.

Ride and Oasis‘ Andy Bell has announced details of his debut album ‘The View From Halfway Down’, as well as sharing the first track from the record.

Set for release on October 9, Bell has previewed the record today (August 11) with the track ‘Love Comes In Waves’ – which sees him leaning into 60s’ psychedelia.

The record was engineered by Bell’s former Oasis bandmate Gem Archer, with the death of David Bowie in 2016 prompting Bell to become more proactive about laying down the record over four years.

“I’ve always wanted to make a solo album, I’ve always said I would do it, although I never
imagined it happening like, or sounding like, this one does,” Bell said.

“I’d been sitting on this pile of almost finished tracks, along with all the other hundreds of ideas that had fallen by the wayside since I’ve been making music. Lockdown gave me the opportunity to find a way to present it to the world.

“The album is not about songwriting. There aren’t many verses or choruses, because this
album is about sounds, a listening experience.”

The album title, meanwhile, is taken from a poem penned by Alison Tafel for the penultimate episode of Bojack Horseman.

“The poem describes someone committing suicide by jumping to their death and the regret
the protagonist experiences when he sees ‘the view from halfway down’. Although, of
course, it’s too late to change what’s going to happen,” he said.

“I read this poem as having a message of suicide prevention: if you could see the view from halfway down, you would never go through with anything that would end your life. I’ve never been suicidal, but I felt really moved by this brilliant poem when I watched the show during Ride’s US tour in autumn 2019. It’s an incredible message.”

He added: “There was a small kind of a parallel with me, sitting at home in London in March 2020. In the early stages of lockdown, you could feel the tension in the air, causing what felt like a global panic attack.

“But, in common with what I’ve heard from others who can experience anxiety for no reason in their everyday lives, I felt strangely calm in the midst of all of this,
seeing things in my life very clearly.”

‘The View From Halfway Down’ is out October 9 on Sonic Cathedral.

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