William Doyle by Ryan MacPhail
“Like other favourite songs of mine, this arrived when I least expected it, almost fully formed,” William Doyle says of lead single And Everything Changed (But I Feel Alright).
Nearly a decade on from when his East India Youth era began when he handed a CD-R demo to John Doran at a gig, William Doyle has announced the details of his latest album since moving on from that Mercury-nominated project.
“The album this turned out to be – and that I’ve wanted to make for ages – is a kind of Englishman-gone-mad, scrambling around the verdancy of the country’s pastures looking for some sense,” Doyle says of Great Spans Of Muddy Time, which is due on March 19th . “It has its seeds in Robert Wyatt, early Eno, Robyn Hitchcock, and Syd Barrett.”
“I became obsessed with Monty Don. I like his manner and there’s something about him I relate to. He once described periods of depression in his life as consisting of ‘nothing but great spans of muddy time’. When I read that quote I knew it would be the title of this record.”
“Something about the sludgy mulch of the album’s darker moments, and its feel of perpetual autumnal evening, seemed to fit so well with those words. I would also be lying if I said it didn’t chime with my mental health experiences as well.”
Great Spans of Muddy Time tracklist:
I Need To Keep You In My Life
And Everything Changed (But I Feel Alright)
Somewhere Totally Else
Shadowtackling
Who Cares
Nothing At All
Rainfalls
New Uncertainties
St. Giles’ Hill
Semi-bionic
A Forgotten Film
Theme from Muddy Time
[a sea of thoughts behind it]