DEAD LETTERS

Product Information

As early as 2004, Hales began collaborating with other artists as a songwriter and producer. He co-wrote " UR" by Tiësto which featured his lead vocal, and was released as a single and featured on the album Just Be. [37] He worked with Leona Lewis on her album Echo in 2009, [ citation needed] and in 2010 he co-wrote songs appearing on albums by Brooke Fraser, [38] Christophe Willem, and Boyzone. [39] A quirky little thing here, is that the cover of Dead Letters will tell you side one isn’t done. But it is. Brownlee, Bill (2 April 2008). "Review: Hotel Cafe Tour". The Kansas City Star . Retrieved 21 February 2013. Bonacich, Drago. "Aqualung – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". AllMusic . Retrieved 21 February 2013. Murphy, Lauren (5 March 2010). "Music Review-Boyzone-Brother". The Irish Times . Retrieved 22 February 2013.

Mervis, Scott (5 May 2005). "Music Preview: Matt Hales, aka Aqualung, explains confusion with Jethro Tull album". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Retrieved 21 February 2013.EASIER TO LIE: "2004 03 21 Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. officialcharts.com/. In the time between the previous Aqualung album, 2015’s ‘10 Futures’, and the release of ‘Dead Letters’, Hales’ reputation as a songwriter and producer flourished. Collaborating with all kinds of artists – including Lianne La Havas, Bat For Lashes, Mika, Tom Chaplin, Jason Mraz, For King & Country and countless others – his hectic yet immensely rewarding schedule resulted in huge acclaim, including both an Ivor Novello and a Grammy. No wonder, then, that aside from occasionally briefly resurfacing, Aqualung remained in hibernation.

Ramirez, Erika (22 August 2012). "Lianne La Havas, Reps Talk 'Is Your Love Big Enough?' Album & Stardom". Prometheus Global Media . Retrieved 22 February 2013. Matt Hales' official Aqualung Facebook post on 40th birthday – 17 January 2012". Facebook. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022 . Retrieved 8 March 2013. At Aqualung’s recent ‘one night only UK tour’ (his first performance in the UK for 12 years at Bush Hall, London) Matt Hales let his devoted audience know just how clued up he is on streaming trends:GOOD TIMES GONNA COME: "2002 12 08 Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. officialcharts.com/. Collaborating with all kinds of artists - including Lianne La Havas, Bat For Lashes, Mika, Tom Chaplin, Jason Mraz, For King and Country and countless others – Hales’ hectic yet immensely rewarding schedule resulted in huge acclaim, including both an Ivor Novello and a Grammy. No wonder, then, that aside from occasionally briefly resurfacing, Aqualung remained in hibernation. One of the great things about streaming is that the system tells you what the best songs are that you’ve ever written. It ranks them, so you can also see all the songs you’ve written that aren’t very good as well. Accordingly this next song is…absolutely worthless!”.

STRANGE AND BEAUTIFUL: "2002 09 22 Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. officialcharts.com/. Hodgkinson, Will (23 April 2003). "Wired for sound". Guardian Media Group . Retrieved 21 February 2013. Hales grew up in Southampton, where his parents ran an independent record shop. [10] He aspired to be a musician from an early age, writing songs using the family piano when he was just 4 years old. When he was 16, Hales was awarded a scholarship to study music composition at Winchester College. Within a year, he wrote his first symphony titled "Life Cycle", [11] and formed his first band, which carried several different names during its lifespan. In the spring of 1990, the band (known at the time as Mecano Pig) [12] produced their debut self-titled album, but broke up soon afterwards. That same year, Hales moved to London to study music at City University, [13] and in 1992 formed a new band with his brother Ben called Gravel Monsters. [14] RUTH / the 45s [ edit ] Dead Letters is the new album from Aqualung - aka songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Matt Hales - his first in more than seven years.As a songwriter and record producer, Hales has collaborated with Lianne La Havas, [6] Bat for Lashes, Tom Chaplin, Mika, Daniel Wilson, Kina Grannis, Andreya Triana, the Fray, Kwabs, Jason Mraz, Reignwolf, Sara Bareilles, [7] Jacob Banks, Paloma Faith, [8] Disclosure, Alex Clare, Mansionair, Mikky Ekko, For King & Country [9] and many others. Ganz, Caryn (10 March 2010). "Sara Bareilles Turns Panic into Rebirth on Uptempo Summer Disc". Wenner Media LLC . Retrieved 21 February 2013. Songs have been getting shorter and shorter. Now 3 minutes and 17 seconds long, the average pop song lost a whole minute between 2020 and 1990. It’s all because streaming allows people to skip songs that don’t get ‘to the point’ soon enough. I’m sort of thumbing my nose at the world of streaming” he told me recently on The Art of Longevity podcast. Well it’s paid off. Dead Letters is less strange, more beautiful, and the best work Matt Hales has made so far as Aqualung.

Aqualung - Aqualung HQ: We're delighted to let you be the... - Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. RUTHsongs". Vanity Press. 27 June 2012. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013 . Retrieved 21 February 2013. It’s funny, but some musicians who have long careers are often apologetic about their most recent work. While this might have a touch more humility than the usual brazen fib “this is my best work ever”, they needn’t be. I wonder, has streaming got something to do with this? When an artist’s new work is so transparently ranked against their biggest hits, it must send a disconcerting message.

Tracklist

THE 7th album FROM AQUALUNG, Dead Letters, is a homecoming record that thumbs its nose up to streaming conventions. it works beautifully. Aqualung first came to attention in 2002 when the debut single ‘Strange and Beautiful (I’ll Put A Spell On You)’ became a surprise UK Top 10 after being discovered via a Volkswagen Beetle advert. While that song created a magnetic allure, the strength and versatility of Hales’ songwriting further enamoured audiences. The debut self-titled Aqualung album reached Gold status in recognition of over 100,000 domestic sales, while the brighter symphonic scope of his second album, Still Life, led to another chart hit with ‘Brighter Than Sunshine’. By the time Aqualung’s third album, Memory Man emerged, glowing comparisons had been made with everyone from Bacharach to Radiohead via The Beach Boys, while his music has featured in ‘Twilight’, ‘Gossip Girl’ and ‘Grey’s Anatomy’.