A Permanent Shadow is a band for want of a better description. Its only fixture is CP Fletcher who for his recordings surrounds himself with a rotating cast of musicians and producers. Albert Català, a classically trained piano player, helps CP whip the demos into shape. The finishing touches in the studio are usually provided by renowned producer Valentín Nieto who has produced both albums “Songs of Loss” (2019) and “Humdrum” (2022) as well a s the covers EP “UnderCover”.
CP took his first steps as a front man forming a Lou Reed tribute project, The Magic and Loss Orchestra. Such is his admiration for the curmudgeon from New York that the tribute experience ended up bleeding into A Permanent Shadow via a cover of “Sword of Damocles”, originally featured on Reed’s Magic and Loss album and included on “Songs of Loss” in a reworked form. The album also features a reading of “See the Lights” by another of CP’s heroes, Simple Minds. For “Humdrum” APS covered Scott Walker’s “Man From Reno” as well as Marianne Faithfull’s “Broken English”.
A Permanent Shadow’s music is a blend of old and new. The songs draw from the likes of Iggy Pop, Scott Walker, Gary Numan, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Japan and Nine Inch Nails as well as Editors, Interpol and Franz Ferdinand, encompassing post-punk, funk-punk and synth-pop.
A PERMANENT SHADOW RETURN WITH A XMAS GIFT IN MAY
A Permanent Shadow, the musical collective around CP Fletcher, returns with a standalone single called “A Xmas Gift in May”. The song will be available in three different versions from May 19th. Originally titled “Black Lolita”, the track was initially not intended for release, but CP changed his mind after listening back to the original version sung by a guest vocalist. “I had all but forgotten about the song, but I accidentally found a copy on my hard drive and thought that it would be a shame not to re-record and release it with a different title as A Permanent Shadow.”
The original was recorded in 2021 as a birthday gift for a soon-to-be past flame of CP’s, inspired by the rather rocky beginning of a relationship that eventually proved short-lived and turbulent. “I wrote this song in a state of absolute euphoria and an unbearable urge to be with a person who in hindsight was not for me. All the red flags were there but I refused to acknowledge them.”
“A Xmas Gift in May” will be released in its original arrangement which features some interesting musical references to classic Sixties pop like “All you Need Is Love”, albeit in a modern guise using a metronomic backbeat and modern-day production values. CP is especially fond of a remix performed by longtime collaborator Valen Nieto which leans heavily on elements of Eighties Italo Disco. The EP release is completed with an intimate take consisting of piano and lead vocals only.
However, none of the EP versions will be included on A Permanent Shadow’s next album, tentatively called “No Leaf Clover” and out in autumn 2023. “This song and another standalone single we are planning to release will not feature on the long play”, states Fletcher. “The album has a different sound and narrative that neither of these two compositions would fit in with. A straight love song like this one would be at odds with the rather bleak lyrical themes that the album deals with.”
“No Leaf Clover” will already be A Permanent Shadow’s third record after “Songs of Loss” (2019) and “Humdrum” (2022), apart from a covers EP. CP Fletcher is the group’s sole constant member, although multi-instrumentalist and producer Valen Nieto as well as keyboarder Albert Català have featured on all APS releases. Film director Dani Moreno has been in charge of most of the band’s visuals. “I work with a tight-knit team, although it’s fair to say that APS is solo project disguised as a band. I think it’s a great band name, but at the same time I wouldn’t want to suffer the constraints of a conventional band. I’ve been in many, and it usually ends badly because of people’s ego. That’s why I’d rather make my own mistakes and suffer the consequences without having to justify myself.”
Expect more mistakes to be made as A Permanent Shadow are already working on a second covers EP and demoing the songs for a fourth album! But before those efforts bear any demonstrable results, there’s the small matter of the new single. “I strongly believe in A Xmas Gift in May”, asserts Fletcher. “It’s a heartfelt piece of romanticism, which is a rare subject matter for me to write about. I have fond memories of the rollercoaster ride which was my life when I wrote it, and I hope we’ve managed to pack some of that desire, longing and uncertainty into the song’s spirit.”
The EP A Xmas Gift in May by A Permanent Shadow will be released on May 19th 2023.
Please check www.apermanentshadow.com for further information.
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