Rice talks openly and in detail about the difficult circumstances surrounding the split with Lisa Hannigan, as well as looking back on the extraordinary story of his rise to international success.

"It is an impressively honest and open interview," Niall Stokes, editor of Hot Press says. "In so many ways, Damien seems to be in a really good place, in that he has achieved a perspective on all of the tumultuous events of the past ten years. I think people will come away from reading it with a far greater insight into the life of a musician, and especially one who was never driven by a burning ambition to sell millions of records. But he doesn't spare himself from criticism for the things that went wrong. I think that there will be a really positive reaction to what he has to say."

In the interview, conducted by Olaf Tyaransen, Damien Rice also talks about the new recording work he is currently engaged in and proposes the prospect of a Mediterranean tour, which would be undertaken in a boat.

The Hot Press Annual is out now.

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