Anamnesis (10 August via Three Crows) isn’t like most folk rock records. But then again, most folk rock records aren’t informed by an obscure text from 1616 about spiritual transformation.
Ethan Johns’ first album since 2015’s ‘Silver Liner’, the musical polymath’s latest release is a whirlwind of a thing, a magical coming together of people and of ideas, taking as its starting the Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz.
It’s a spiritual journey which runs deep throughout Anamnesis, and also draws inspiration from the works of magical thinkers – and personal heroes of Johns’ – Alejandro Jodorowsky and Philip K Dick. Anamnesis is different for another reason too. The album will only be available as a physical release, taking a stand against streaming culture and the disservice it does to artists who are trying to make living from their music.
Recorded live – in the barn at the bottom of his garden over two weeks in the depths of last winter, Johns fourth LP sees him reunited with his long-standing band, ‘The Black-Eyed Dogs” who came together for what he calls “legitimately one of the best times I’ve ever had making a record.” Watch his new video for Runaway Train.
Though he might be an acclaimed, Brit Award-winning producer, he handed over the reins to the collective when it came to fine turning the album in the studio. “Everybody had a vital part to play,” he explains. “I was blown away by the sense of community.”
Now for a man based in the wilds of Wiltshire, Johns’ lyrical fascination with Americana might at first seem at odds with his current situation, but it all makes perfect sense really. This is a man who’s spent nigh on half his life in America, first travelling to California (where his family kept a home through his childhood) at just three months old and then from the age of 17 living and touring there for almost 20 years – on the road with amongst others Crosby, Stills & Nash, and Emmylou Harris.
So the fact that at times he sounds like Richard Thompson fronting The Band – which he truly, brilliantly does – should come as no surprise.
Anamnesis then, is where classic British folk meets the sound of wandering American troubadours with a healthy dose of inspiration from the unknown.
To coincide with the release, Ethan has confirmed a number of ‘in-store’ performances throughout August at some of the UK’s most cherished independent record shops including Spiller’s CARDIFF, Coda EDINBURGH & ROUGH TRADE plus a handful of additional dates with the full band, details are as follows:
Ethan Johns Tour Dates
AUGUST 10 – CARDIFF @ Spillers (In-Store Performance)
AUGUST 11 – OXFORD @Truck Store (In-Store Performance)
AUGUST 11 – GUILDFORD @St Mary’s Church
AUGUST 12 – SOUTHEND @ South Records (In-Store Performance)
AUGUST 14 – LEIGHTON BUZZARD @ Black Circle Records (In-Store)
AUGUST 15 – SHEFFIELD @ Spinning Discs (In-Store Performance)
AUGUST 16 – STOCKTON @Sound It Out Records (In-Store Performance)
AUGUST 17 – EDINBURGH @ Coda (In-Store Performance)
AUGUST 17 – MONTROSE @ Mo’Fidelity Records (In-Store Performance)
AUGUST 18 – GLASGOW @ LOVE Music (In-Store Performance)
AUGUST 19 – CARLISLE @ Vinyl Cafe (In-Store Performance)
AUGUST 21 – LIVERPOOL @ Jacaranda Records (In-Store Performance)
AUGUST 21 – LIVERPOOL @ Heaven’s Gate 81 Renshaw
AUGUST 22 – SHREWBURY @ Left For Dead (In-Store Performance)
AUGUST 22 – SHREWSBURY @ The Wakes
AUGUST 24 – BRISTOL @Rough Trade
AUGUST 25 – LONDON @ Rough Trade West
AUGUST 27 – MARLBOROUGH @Sound Knowledge
AUGUST 28 – FROME@Raves From The Grave
SEPTEMBER 7 – LEWES @ Westgate Chapel