New Music From James Yorkston, Nina Persson, and The Second Hand Orchestra

Posted on Jan 5, 2023
New Music From James Yorkston, Nina Persson, and The Second Hand Orchestra

On January 13, James Yorkston, Nina Persson and The Second Hand Orchestra will release the follow up to James Yorkston and The Second Hand Orchestra’s The Wide, Wide River – a Guardian Top 10 Folk Album of 2021 – The Great White Sea Eagle. The record didn’t start life as a follow up; in early 2021, Yorkston began visiting his studio in Cellardyke, Fife and for the first time, starting writing songs on the piano as opposed to his usual guitar as he gazed upon the sea outside his window. After Yorkston sent the first five or six songs to musical director Karl-Jonas Winqvist, they began to discuss working on the music together. With Yorkston’s shift from guitar to piano, they thought about what other changes they could make to their process which led to the involvement of a guest singer and the legendary Nina Persson (The Cardigans) was brought into the fold. They followed the same methodology as The Wide, Wide River – apart from this core trio, none of The Second Hand Orchestra had heard the music prior to entering the studio – and the arrangements were made up on the spot. Yorkston summarizes: “Everyone who was playing in The Second Hand Orchestra, in their own way they are all unique and colourful players. There was no-one there who didn’t know what to do. I would bring them the songs, we would start one – I would play it, and second time round people would start singing and playing, and by the time we had done it three or four times we would hit record and we would be ready to go. And the thing that they all had was the ability to give each other space and to come up with their parts based on what other people were playing naturally was a very quick process, and they were all so open, nobody was egotistical. Everything was just happy. I love the wildness in it.”

In advance of the album’s release, they’ve put forward three advance singles from the forthcoming album, including Yorkston and Person’s favorite song from the record: “The Harmony.” Of the song, Yorkston says,”This is a duet love song that we recorded one evening, after most of the Second Hand Orchestra had left for home. It has that beautiful woozy sound music has when everything is lust working together perfectly. It’s intimate, and a favourite.” Previous single “An Upturned Crab” is  about regretting missed moments of family life and seeing a child’s delight, as Yorkston and Persson sing “I made a life on the road, and I thought I was doing grand / But the gold remained at home, and I missed watching you grow.” “Hold Out For Love,” the first single from the record, is a kind of Fife-gospel anthem with Yorkston and Persson’s vocals interwoven together over the lyrics: “You’ll have no regrets / If you hold out for love / Don’t sell yourself short / For the sake of a moment.”

FCC Clean

Label: Domino

Goes For Adds 1/10

Skip to toolbar