Paul Kelly has continued his reign as one of Australia’s most prolific artists, announcing his latest album, Please Leave Your Light On – a collaboration with Paul Grabowsky.
For those paying close attention, it was this time last week that Kelly released his latest album, with Forty Days consisting of recordings made during the artist’s titular time period spent in quarantine. Though this record brought with it promise of a new album, details remained unclear until today.
Now, Kelly has revealed that his latest effort has been recorded with pianist and composer Paul Grabowsky, with Please Leave Your Light On set to be released on July 31st.
In a press release, Grabowsky recalls how he and Kelly first met back in 1995, working on an ABC program called Access All Areas, though they didn’t actively work together for a number of years.
Having toured together with the Australian Art Orchestra’s Meet Me in the Middle of the Air in 2010, the pair continued their collaborations, with the new record seeing Grabowsky adapting Kelly’s songs (which make up the majority of the release) for the piano/voice combination.
“As Paul mentioned, all the songs except one were written by me over many years,” Kelly added. “The most recent one, “True To You”, opens the album with a little nod to the Gershwin Brothers and it’s the only song that hasn’t appeared in another form on a previous record.
“We chose the other songs with a mind to their suitability for direct address, close, concentrated performance and room for silence to draw the listener in.
“So, light the fire, make a hearty one-pot meal for the one you love, open a bottle of wine and get comfortable. Now drop the needle and turn up the stereo. There’s plenty of space here for all.”
To give fans a taste of what this collaboration sounds like, the double A-side single of “If I Could Start Today Again” and “Please Leave Your Light On” has been made available for streaming, with the former receiving the video treatment thanks to director Andrew Doherty.
Paul Kelly and Paul Grabowsky’s Please Leave Your Light On is set to be released on July 31st through EMI Music, with pre-orders available now.
Please Leave Your Light On tracklist:
1. “True to You”
2. “Petrichor”
3. “When A Woman Loves a Man”
4. “Sonnet 138”
5. “Time and Tide”
6. “Young Lovers”
7. “Every Time We Say Goodbye”
8. “Please Leave Your Light On”
9. “You Can Put Your Shoes Under My Bed”
10. “Winter Coat”
11. “God’s Grandeur”
12. “If I Could Start Today Again”
