THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The word ‘soul’ has been a recurring one in the story of The The: From Matt Johnson’s 1981 neo-psychedelic debut album Burning Blue Soul, through the shapeshifting musicality of its 1983 successor Soul Mining, and now with the name of his amorphous band’s latest release Ensouled.
The dictionary definition of ensoul is ‘to endow with a soul’. “It’s a fascinating idea,” says Johnson. “At what point does the soul inhabit the body? But, more pertinently, we’re in this era of nascent AI technology, and the philosophical musings and debates that are going on now about the meaning of being human.”
Encompassing characteristic topics ranging from love and sex, war and politics, and life and death — to the meaning of what it is to be human in the 21st century — Ensoulment was written, demoed and mixed at Studio Cinéola in London, Johnson’s creative base.
The songs were further refined in rehearsals ahead of a six-day session at Real World Studios near Bath, where Johnson was joined by longstanding members James Eller (bass), DC Collard (keyboards), Earl Harvin (drums) and Barrie Cadogan (lead guitar). The album also marks the return of co-producer and engineer Warne Livesey, who previously worked on landmark albums Infected (1986) and Mind Bomb (1989). Additional performances include Gillian Glover (backing vocals), Terry Edwards (horns), Sonya Cullingford (fiddle) and Danny Cummings (percussion).
Over the years, The The’s releases have developed a distinct aesthetic style, which in no small part owes to the artwork of Johnson’s late brother Andrew (aka artist Andy Dog). Ensoulment proudly features some of Andrew’s previously unpublished works on the cover, in the exquisitely designed 32-page booklet for the vinyl and CD formats, as well as on the covers of all singles. Cognitive Dissident is the first single from the album, written by Johnson and Barrie Cadogan, produced by Johnson and Livesey.
All of which brings us to the much-anticipated Ensouled World Tour. “This one would have happened sooner,” Johnson stresses, “but of course, we’ve been on a bit of a dystopian amusement arcade ride the last few years. So, life gets in the way.”
In addition, the past few years have seen the release of a series of limited edition seven-inch singles: We Can’t Stop What’s Coming (2017), I Want 2 B U (2020) and $1 ONE VOTE! (2023). Johnson admits: “Those singles started stimulating the creative process again.”
