Down In The Valley - Music, Movies, Minneapolis & More

Following a stream of thematic and conceptual albums over the last 15 years Darren Hayman has recently returned to a more introspective, personal kind of music. Darren is the only musician on the album and the music conforms to a strict set of self-imposed rules; only one voice, only 12 tracks, only one polyphonic instrument. ¨Through this control and limited palette I found new melodies and structures. I wanted these old machines to guide me towards my most human record.¨ 'A Real Human Being' is inspired by Darren's experience of life drawing. ""Modern life encourages us to reduce people to images, jokes, memes. In life drawing, you're treating the person as a form, watching where the light and shadows fall, and then you're reminded that they are real, alive."" In 'No Lime for the Gin', a group of old friends is reunited in middle age, holding a half-hearted party where the talk is dominated by their hopes and broken dreams. 'Turn My Grey Tick Blue' is a wry look at the anxieties of dating in the digital age. 'You Were Always Here' ends the album on an optimistic note. Finding love late in life, the narrator ruminates on how the bad things happened for a reason, and that perhaps we always end up where we're supposed to be. You Will Not Die is a much slower and more brooding voyage. It is a seductive, soulful collection of songs and instrumentals that sits among Darren's most emotive and intelligent work