Following last year’s Henki, a collaboration with Finnish experimental metal band Circle, Richard Dawson returns on November 18th with The Ruby Cord, the conclusion of a trilogy that began with the pre-medieval world of Peasant, was brought back to the present day with 2020 and – possibly – concludes in the future with Dawson’s seventh studio album.
The album press describes the world of The Ruby Cord as an unreal, fantastical and at times sinister future where social mores have mutated, ethical and physical boundaries have evaporated… a place where you no longer need to engage with anyone but yourself and your own imagination.
While 2020 dealt in social realism with explorations of testy football matches, the fallacy of work-life balance and therapeutic forms of repetitive exercise, The Ruby Cord shakes off the limitations of so-called real life and delves headlong into a (sort of) sci-fi world where human society has collapsed and morphed into something distinctly less solid. “So many of us are moving into these fantasy worlds,” says Dawson. “Whether it’s actual constructed virtual realities, computer worlds, or retreating into even more fantastical realms…. conspiracy theories, nationalism, amateur football punditry. People construct their own world because this one is so flawed.”
This is art shorn of artifice, pop against populism, and it just so happens to be one of the defining statements of our times.
Thomas Blake, Folk Radio
Despite its futuristic setting, Dawson is still tackling contemporary issues – in this near-future, the fantasy world that some people live in looks incredibly like Old England or mythic Albion. But what happens if there’s a glitch in this virtual world that turns a pastoral scene into one of dread? Dawson explains further whilst indicating some of the inspirations behind the album: “Like when you play video games, sometimes something glitches and it makes something happen that’s really bizarre and disturbing.”
Opening track “The Hermit” is Dawson’s most ambitious work thus far, taking the epic storytelling of 2014’s “The Vile Stuff” and stretching the limits even further into a sprawling 40-minute mood piece that acts as the gateway to the rest of The Ruby Cord. An accompanying 40-minute pop video has been made for “The Hermit” by director James Hankins. Telling the story of a loner living in a bucolic dreamworld, the short film will be premiered at several cinemas and art spaces across the UK with Q&A sessions after each screening. These screening events offer the first opportunity to hear music from The Ruby Cord, with details of live dates in 2023 to follow soon.
Watch the trailer for The Hermit below:
Cinema screenings
12th November – Rio, London (4pm) ^
13th November – Belgrave Music Hall, Leeds
14th November – The Cube, Bristol ^
15th November – Chapeltown Picture House, Manchester
16th November – FACT, Liverpool
17th November – Star & Shadow, Newcastle ^
18th November – CCA, Glasgow
^ = in person Q&A
Tracklisting – The Ruby Cord
- The Hermit
- Thicker Than Water
- The Fool
- Museum
- The Tip of an Arrow
- No-one
- Horse and Rider
The Ruby Cord will be available to preorder on Dom Mart-exclusive double red vinyl with print, indies-exclusive double blue vinyl with print, standard double vinyl, CD and digitally. Preorder: Dom Mart | Digital