‘MEAN WORLD SYNDROME’ - Is our debut album, coming out across all streaming and download platforms on January 26th 2024.
Back in August 2021 we headed into the studio with producer Charlie Andrew and his engineer Matt Glasbey. We’d never worked together before but we’d heard and loved all of the records that Charlie had produced with Alt-J and after some chasing we’d finally convinced him to listen to our demos and eventually to work with us. We were going to start with a commitment of one song - ‘Awake’ and see if it was a good fit. We worked solidly for 3 days on Awake and then sent it to our record label to get their thoughts. By the end of the 3 days we all knew that we wanted to make a record together but would they sign the cheques to make it happen?
News came through that the label loved ‘Awake’ and we had the go ahead to make a full length album together. We booked out 6 weeks at Unwound Studios in Deptford, South East London and got to work as soon as we could, we even booked into an airbnb for the first 4 weeks so that we could become fully immersed in the album making process without any other distractions. We all showed up fully for this process, working long hours and becoming a tight knit team because we believed in the songs, in ourselves and we believed that we were making something very special. We had highs and lows and we lifted each other through some heavy life stuff and by the time we emerged to see daylight again we were like a family. When all was said and done the process of tracking and mixing the album actually took about 6 months from the start of recording day 1 until the end of the mixing process, which we had continued from Charlie’s studio and from home via zoom calls. Even well into 2023 we were still making tweaks on some song mixes and finalising the mastering process. A lot changed during this time. Initially, we had the backing of a major US record label, a fancy management team, and a six-month world tour supporting a massive band. By the end, we were independent, self-managed, and the world tour had dwindled to just five dates in the UK & Ireland.
None of that could kill our love for this record though, we were finished and it sounded incredible. It was everything we had wanted it to become and more, but how to release it without the big label machine behind us?
As the projects defacto new manager and record label I had to dive into some pretty deep learning and do a whole lot of catching up on the business side while planning how we would get this release out there. I called everyone on the team (Publisher, agent, business manager, producer, distribution) to get their input and advice, I met with everyone I could and even headed out to LA & Nashville to meet our publisher and the sync team out there and play them the record for the first time. Myself and Ben met up a lot and sent each other countless podcasts and music industry books to study, Chris was thrown into full time work when the tour fell apart but he helped where he could and we all met up to film live sessions, take photoshoots etc.
After absorbing as much info as we could we decided on a staggered single release approach; We’d release roughly one song every 6 weeks until we’d released them all, and then at the end we’d reveal the concept and the final songs, the intro and the interludes and it would all make sense as a whole. This allowed us as many shots at the algorithms as we could get and also meant we could give each song its moment in the spotlight, something that had worked for us on previous EP’s. We began to release the songs in October 2022…
Life Support, Hold Me Love, Life Song, Awake, The Road, Lost Boys, Clio, Feathers, The Ashes, Mean World Syndrome (Intro), Echoes, The Sun Swallows Us Whole.
On January 26th we’ll release that album made into the world, in full and as it was intended to be heard. We can’t wait for it to be out there and we intend to promote it until it hits as many ears as it deserves to. We’d love your help with that - when ‘Mean World Syndrome’ lands please share it with as many people as you can, there are around 1000 of us on this list and if everyone could get it to 10 people over the course of next year that could have a huge impact! 📺
So what is the albums title ‘Mean World Syndrome’ all about? More on that in the newsletter next week. We’ll talk about vinyl pre-orders then too.
So much love - Matt
‘MEAN-ER WORLD SYNDROME’ …for the PATRONS 🖤
We’ve been thinking about how to offer a deeper listening experience to the incredible patrons who have supported us through this process and given us such a boost in the last 12 months. We figured that if this was our favourite band, we’d want to see behind the curtain, how was it all made? What did it sound like before it was done? Well erm; Voila…
Coming to Patreon on MWS release day:
The Demos - Hear the original demos we made for each of the songs that ended up on ‘Mean World Syndrome’. Some of the song demos sound completely different from the release, some sound very similar. Some sound like voice memos from a phone perched on top of a piano in a Nashville writing room, either way there’s magic in ‘em.
The instrumentals - I realised how much I’ve been enjoying listening to the instrumentals of the album and picking out all of the intricate parts being played without the vocals getting in the way. They’re great to put on loop when I’m working or reading. We’ll be sharing the instrumentals playlist so you can listen too!
The Annotated Lyrics - Song lyrics plus scribblings and ramblings.
Coming over the next few months:
The Chords - We’ll be uploading lead sheets with the lyrics and chords for each song so that the musicians among you can play along too.
The Video Vault - Something that was as consistent as the coffee’s we were running on were the cameras we were documenting the process with. It’s a lot of footage and when the album wins a grammy we’ll pay some famous director to stitch it together into a documentary. Until then, it’s yours to rake through.
Song Stories Video series - Matt is going to talk you through the inspiration and writing process for each of the songs on the record.
Want to come to a Belle Mt. live show?
Are you the type of person that lives to hear the best songs live, do you want to be in a room filled with other Belle Mt. fans while we play our hearts out to you just a couple of weeks after releasing our debut album? It’ll be a special moment and there are still tickets available!…
Belle Mt. Headline The Lexington, London on February 7th 2024