LUMP is a collaborative album from Laura Marling, the Grammy-nominated, Brit award-winning singer-songwriter, and Mike Lindsay, the founding member of Tunng and Throws, and a prolific, Mercury prize-winning producer. The album, which was recorded in Lindsay’s subterranean London studio, will be released on June 1st.
Today the duo share the album’s first single, “Curse Of The Contemporary.” A steady, pulsing bassline divines a road snaking off towards the horizon, which gives a sense of gazing out of a car window as mountains and palm trees rush by. Marling begins: “If you should be bored in California / I’m sure I’m not the first to warn you,” and as the song progresses, her words drip with ever more cynicism for the new age: “We salute the sun / Because when the day is done / We can’t believe what we’ve become / Something else to prey upon.”
The accompanying video was created by the motion graphics designer Esteban Diacono. Diacono’s body of work is diverse, having created music videos, game design, brand films, educational campaigns, live visuals, mapping projects, TV advertising, VFX and experimental projects and his work has been presented at various festivals globally. His video for “Curse Of The Contemporary” brings the LUMP character to glorious life, as the viewer accompanies LUMP on an imaginary journey.
Esteban said the following about the video:
“For me it was very important that this video was respectful of the spirit of Laura and Mike’s collaboration. I wanted to create a video that was joyful and interesting while at the same time retaining an innocent and tender overall vibe. I also wanted to touch on some of the topics that were important to Laura’s lyrics, but under a different look. Visually, I took inspiration from the idea of California as a Dream Factory, from the idea of big movie sets that could transform themselves, give shape and color to dreams and spark the imagination.
The video is fully animated, and LUMP was brought to life using motion capture technology.”
“Curse Of The Contemporary” is also available for Record Store Day in the UK on hyper-limited 12” translucent green vinyl.
LUMP was born of good timing and predestined compatibility. It began one night in mid-June 2016, when Lindsay was introduced to Marling after her show supporting Neil Young in London. On meeting, Lindsay and Marling discovered they had long been admirers of each other’s work.
Marling and Lindsay will be touring LUMP this summer, with appearances confirmed at Rough Trade East in London, Hebden Bridge, Manchester, Festival Of Voice and Latitude, as well as two intimate shows in one night at Oslo in Hackney on June 5th. Live dates are as follows:
LUMP Tour Dates:
June 1 – London, Rough Trade East instore
June 2 – Hebden Bridge, The Trades Club
June 3 – Manchester, Band In The Wall
June 5 – London, Oslo
June 5 – London, Oslo (second show)
June 8 – Cardiff, Festival Of Voice
June 9 – Bristol, Rough Trade in-store
July 13 – Latitude Festival, Henham Park