Imelda May Releases a New Single “Diamonds” Alongside a New Album ‘11 Past The Hour’
The new album ‘11 Past The Hour’ is a record that brims with sensuality, emotional intelligence, spirituality, and intuition, marking a new chapter for Imelda and showcasing her at her most authentic.
Mostly written with co-producer Tim Bran (London Grammar, Primal Scream) and string arranger Davide Rossi (Coldplay, U2, Goldfrapp), this brave album shows an artist diving deep into her true self, her Irish roots, her love of storytelling and singing from her soul.
With pals and collaborators like Wood, Gallagher and Miles Kane and inspired contributions from feminist thinkers and activists such as Gina Martin and Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, the album is an invigorating statement of rock n’ low slung blues.
Imelda says, “’11 Past the Hour’ is my truth. I always write with meaning and from my heart as that’s the reason I write, to connect with my own story at each particular moment and I hope therefore I connect with others during theirs. I’d like to think I can put into words and music what we all feel sometimes. We all laugh, sing, love, cry, dance, kiss, care. We all experience lust, anger, joy, worry, sorrow and hope. Sometimes we stay silent and hold it all in and sometimes we dance and throw it all to the wind with abandon, but one thing is for sure is we are in this life together. Each song is a moment in my life. Each life is a moment in time. Every minute counts.”
‘What We Did In The Dark’, a duet with Miles Kane, is a galloping Eighties Goth- pop synth romp. These are Just a few of the variety of views, multiplicity of voices, range of emotions and the exciting, adventurous spread of sounds on ‘11 Past The Hour’, with a big-hearted, big-thinking woman at the centre of it.
Discovered by Jools Holland, who asked Imelda to go on tour with him, Imelda has gone on to perform duets with artists including U2, Lou Reed, Sinead O Connor, Robert Plant, Van Morrison, Jack Savoretti and Elvis Costello and has featured on recent albums and live tours with Jeff Beck, Jeff Goldblum and Ronnie Wood.
Her last album landed at No.5 in the UK Official Album Chart and she can count such artists as Bob Dylan and Bono amongst her fans. Last year, her 2008 album ‘Love Tattoo’ was named the bestselling album of modern chart history by a homegrown female Irish artist by the Official Charts Company.
With Tik Tok also boosting the mass popularity of the Sea Shanty this year, Fishermans Friends 2 is destined to be a box office smash on it’s release in Spring 2022. Imelda plays the newest face in Port Isaac, as a famous singer-songwriter looking to escape the world for a while.
As ever, Imelda manages to cut through the noise, bringing her rich, sensual voice and exuberant personality to everyone and everything around her. ‘11 Past The Hour’ is an album of grit and glamour, of wee hours vocal huskiness and anthemic pop belters. Of poetry and power. Of love and sex and fun – this is pure Imelda May.
