Here is a second track from Justin’s ‘Surrounded’ album, entitled ‘Clean Horizon’.

“I think that unaffected simplicity is the holy grail for song-writers, but of course you can’t make that happen either by force of will or by hard work. I think that it’s more a case of being open to what comes. Just occasionally there are songs that kind of write themselves. I fall into conversation with a person – it might be someone I know well or a complete stranger – and in the course of the conversation I can suddenly see directly into the person’s heart, I can feel their story and I want to write it. Combine this with a simple melody and it’s done. Clean Horizon was one such song, written and recorded very quickly the morning after one of these conversations, with just a guitar and voice and with the later addition of my friend Tobias Unterberg’s wonderfully emotive cellos.” JS

SURROUNDED
‘Surrounded’ will be released on 28th of May on double vinyl, media-book CD and digital, accompanied by the longing-awaited re-release of Justin’s first solo album ‘Navigating by the Stars’. Both are available to pre-order now from all the usual big outlets but we are recommending independent online retailers running special bundles. In the UK, this will be Townsend. However, we are aware that shipping costs and Brexit nonsense will make it easier and cheaper for many people to pre-order in their own countries. This link should take you to different outlets depending on your ip address.

https://JustinSullivan.lnk.to/Surrounded_Socials

Unfortunately, the North American physical release has been delayed until July 21st but the album will be available digitally on May 28th.

GERMAN TOUR
In addition, Justin has been booked to play a series of socially-distanced (and many open air) solo shows in Germany in June. Tickets are on sale and we are optimistic that these will go ahead as planned, although we are aware that things can change quickly in these Covid times.

We. 02.06. Köln Freideck Kantine Open Air
Th. 03.06. Dortmund - FZW
Fr. 04.06. Worpswede - Musichall Open Air
Sa. 05.06. Hameln - Sumpfblume
Mo. 07.06. Hamburg - Knust
Tu. 08.06. Neuruppin - Bodoni-Vielseithof Open Air
We. 09.06. Nürnberg - Hirsch Biergarten
Fr. 11.06. Leipzig - Moritzbastei - Terrasse
Su. 13.06. München - Backstage Arena Süd Open Air
Mo. 14.06. Freiburg - Jazzhaus
We. 16.06. Tübingen - Sudhaus
Fr. 18.06. Lindau - Club Vaudeville Open Air
Mo. 21.06. Frankfurt - Batschkapp Sommergarten
Di. 22.06. Coesfeld - Fabrik

Fr. 07.01.22 Düsseldorf, Weltkunstzimmer
Sa. 08.01.22 Winter Acoustic Festival, Düsseldorf

Stay safe everyone. We hope to see you soon.

Due to the continuing Coronavirus situation it will perhaps come as no surprise that we have had to reschedule this summers Berlin shows once more. The three shows, and particularly the Tempodrom show with the Orchestra Sinfonia Leipzig, would have required a lot of preparation and travel to do to their full potential which is sadly not possible at this time due to the on going pandemic restrictions.

The new rescheduled dates for the three shows are:
15.07.2022 Berlin - Tempodrom
16.07.2022 Berlin - SO 36 (SOLD OUT)
17.07.2022 Berlin - SO 36 (SOLD OUT)

Tickets already purchased remain valid for these shows.

As for the other shows this summer we currently do not know what will be allowed in mainland Europe as yet (and we suspect not a lot), but we remain cautiously optimistic that the three uk festival shows will still take place as planned. We will of course keep everyone informed as soon as more news comes in. Stay safe everyone.

On May 28th, Justin Sullivan will release his second solo album, eighteen years after the first. “Surrounded” is a collection of sixteen new songs, written in the first weeks of the 2020 lockdown. The songs are again guitar-vocal pieces featuring his love of story-telling, wide open landscapes and strong atmospheres.

Mostly recorded at home, the album also features contributions from many other musicians including Jon Thorne on bass (best known for his work in the band Lamb and countless jazz combos), Tom Moth (harp player from Florence and the Machine - and Ceri’s brother), string arrangements from composer friends Tobias Unterberg, Henning Nügel and Shir-Ran Yinon, backing vocals from Anna Douglas and Laura Shackleton (from the Bradford duo Waiting For Wednesday) and vibraphone from Matty Anst, along with contributions from many others, including all the current members of NMA. It was mixed by Lee Smith at Greenmount Studios in Leeds, who also mixed the last three NMA releases. The album comes in a media book CD format and double vinyl.

JS: “Under the circumstances, it wasn’t particularly surprising that this was the moment to make another solo record and the songs came thick and fast in the first few weeks of the lockdown… There is not so much about ‘what’s happening in the World’. As with Navigating by the Stars, which was written in the aftermath of 9/11, I wanted to write about other things - some well-known stories, some less well-known, some autobiographical and more a landscape of the imagination than social comment. I’m grateful for all the many musical contributions I received from friends that help to create all the different atmospheres and places; it’s a long album, but it seems that all the songs belonged together in one collection. I hope people enjoy it.”

Simultaneously, Justin’s first solo album “Navigating by the Stars”, which has been out of print for some years, will be re-released. The new version will come in a cardboard digipack with an expanded booklet and for the first time on (double) vinyl. The audio has not been altered but there are two additional tracks: ‘Sooner or Later’, which first appeared as a B-side in 2003, and ‘The Wreck of The Essex’, a song written and recorded later that same year that has laid dormant ever since but for a few live performances.

To pre-order the album(s), go here…
https://justinsullivan.tmstor.es/

Please note that, with the ever-increasing shipping costs and now the added complications of Brexit, it may be cheaper for people outside the UK to order from outlets in their own countries. We will be adding links for these soon.

Amundsen

Today sees the release of ‘Amundsen’, the first single from Justin’s “Surrounded” album which gives a first insight into this very personal album.

“The stories of polar (and in particular Antarctic) adventurers at the beginning of the 20th Century have long been a fascination. On my first solo record, the song 'Ocean Rising' is, in part, the story of Ernest Shackleton's epic voyage from Elephant Island to South Georgia. The race to reach the South Pole between Roald Amundsen and Robert Scott is another fascinating tale. Being raised in England, Scott and his 'noble, tragic' failure is a story written large in national mythology but the other man, a truly remarkable explorer, is rarely acknowledged. The battle over who gets to tell which version of a story is very relevant in these times of 'culture wars', but the song is more a simple snapshot of him and I hope I have done him justice.”

‘Amundsen’ is now available as stream and digital download: https://JustinSullivan.lnk.to/Amundsen

The single is also accompanied by an official music video which can be found on the official New Model Army YouTube channel:

Spring Greetings to everyone – though we are sure that the changing season makes us all even more restless…

With some UK Festivals beginning to make hopeful noises, we are cautiously optimistic that at least some of our gigs planned for this summer might take place, in one form or another. We are less optimistic about summer events outside the UK – a little more so for those scheduled for the end of the year. As with 2020, we are not cancelling anything but will move the concerts if we have to, and will keep you informed.

Meanwhile, the long-promised limited-edition double DVD of last October’s 40th Anniversary live-stream has been delayed but should be available within a few weeks.

Ten and a bit years ago, our 30th Anniversary two-night concert in London was filmed in a joint project with Nyquest. DVD copies of this sold out some time ago and it has now moved to pay-to-view streaming platforms, where it can be seen in full HD quality. It is available on Amazon Prime (and for a very short time the first night was offered free to subscribers but is now to pay for). However, we would prefer that anyone who does want to watch this (or download it), goes to Vimeo on Demand, from which, unsurprisingly, more of the fee will actually go to the band.

Night 1 (Friday)
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/nmanight1

Night 2 (Saturday)
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/nmanight2

The release of Justin’s new solo album ‘Surrounded’ (together with the re-release of ‘Navigating by The Stars’) will now be in May, and a first track and video will be released very soon (on March 5th).

More news as it arrives.