- Music
- 09 Jan 07
Ash have confirmed that their first post-Charlotte Hatherley album will be coming out in March.
The as-yet-untitled collection has been assembled in the band’s own New York studio, and finds them venturing into new sonic territory.
“We’ve been planning string arrangements on two songs, which has taken quite a long time,” Tim Wheeler says. “I’ve been working with this guy called Paul Buckmaster. He started in the late ‘60s and played cello on Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’ and then went on to arrange the strings on Elton John’s first five albums and stuff for the Stones. It’ll be a 20-piece orchestra. They’re in LA, so I’m flying there for eight hours on Saturday. We’re recording in Capitol B, which is a really historical studio that people like Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra used.”
Wheeler is also rather pleased with the cover photo-shoot, which Ash indirectly have Ireland’s fortnightly magazine to thank for.
“This guy B+ is mainly a hip-hop photographer but we met him a few years ago in LA when he did a cover photoshoot of us for hotpress,” Tim explains. “He’s actually an Irish guy, but he’s been living in LA for a long time. He’s great. It’s nice when you can pull together as many Irish people as possible.”