Ride and former Oasis guitarist Andy Bell has collaborated with Neu! and Harmonia guitarist Michael Rother on his brand new single, i’m in love.
The new single, a cover of post-punk band The Passions 1981 hit I’m In Love With A German Film Star, also features vocals from Dot Allison and gives the song a dream-pop meets krautrock makeover.
The single is taken from Bell’s upcoming third solo album, pinball wanderer, which he will release through Sonic Cathedral on February 28.
“I went through a stage of playing the guitar part for that song at every Ride soundcheck,” says Bell of the new single. “Erol Alkan has always maintained it’s ‘proto shoegaze’ and I agree. Dot has been a friend of mine for a long time now. Like many people of a certain age, I loved One Dove, and when I booked her to DJ at a club night in Sweden in about 2004, she levelled the place by playing Ace Of Spades by Motörhead at 3am and we became mates. I played on some tracks on her last album Consciousology and this was her returning the favour.
“Then, incredibly, Michael Rother from Neu! also ended up on it. I met him at his show at the Barbican last February and asked him to remix the song, but instead he decided he wanted to play guitar, which took everything to a whole new level. I was leaving for a tour the next morning and I knew I had to mix the single before I left. Hearing Michael’s guitar parts in the mix was such an incredible feeling; it just fired me up to keep on recording and mixing into the night.”
Bell will be playing a series of acoustic solo shows for the first time, forming part of a tour of independent record shops in February and March. The shows are as kick off with an album launch at London’s Stranger Than Paradise. You can see the full list of dates below.
pinball wanderer will be available in a variety of formats including limited cyan, magenta and yellow vinyl variants.
Andy Bell: pinball wanderer
1, panic attack
2. i’m in love…
3. madder lake deep
4. apple green ufo
5. pinball wanderer
6. music concrete
7. the notes you never hear
8. space station mantra
Andy Bell acoustic shows
Feb 27: Londin Stranger Than Paradise
Feb 28: Oxford Truck Store
Mar 2: Bedford Slide outstore at Esquires
Mar 3: Brighton Resident
Mar 4: Coventry Just Dropped In
Mar 5: Manchester Piccadilly
Mar 6: Liverpool Jacaranda
