Scouse pop wonders The Zutons are set to begin work on their new album, after being dropped by long term home Deltasonic.
The Zutons were part of a wave of groups who emerged from Liverpool. With The Coral breaking new ground, a whole host of bands both good and bad came stumbling in their wake. The Zutons are perhaps the best known of these, and certainly the most successful.
Which is why their departure from Deltasonic was so surprising. Based in Liverpool, the label was intrinsically linked with The Zutons who supplied the imprint with many of its biggest hits. The band even wrote the decade’s biggest single, with ‘Valerie’ becoming a hit twice over after Amy Winehouse covered the song.
But The Zutons haven’t let the situation affect them. The band have already been booked to play a number of festivals, including a headline slot at Leicester’s Summer Sundae Weekender. Alongside their well loved hits, however, could lurk some exciting new material.
In a new interview saxophonist Abi Harding has revealed that The Zutons are working on their new album. “We’re writing a new album at the moment,” she told the Liverpool Echo. “We’ve just moved rehearsal rooms, so we’re pretty busy. We’ve had a bit of time off. Now we’re just concentrating on writing.”
Poor sales of the band’s last album ‘You Can Do Anything’ are thought to be the reason behind the group’s departure from Deltasonic. Harding did not state how far The Zutons were into recording the new album, but did state that it could have an afrobeat feel.
“I’ve been listening to loads of music – some mad instrumental stuff from Africa, some great stuff from Fela Kuti,” she said.
“It’s nothing like what I play, but I love listening to it. Maybe it inspires a bit of what we do. But that’s always been the thing with the band – what we play changes all the time. It feels like we can play anything we want.”
Harding also took time to dismiss rumours that she is engaged to Zutons drummer Sean Payne.
“I keep reading that I’m engaged,” she said. “I don’t know where that came from.”
