PJ Harvey has shared her new single ‘Voyager’. Listen, and find out all the information below.
Back in January, Harvey teased that she was working on a new album and book, saying it was “a process that always surprises and challenges me, but one I realise I am committed to and love.”
Now, she’s shared her first new music since 2023’s Grammy-nominated ‘I Inside The Old Year Dying‘, in the form of ‘Voyager’ – out today (June 24) via Partisan Records.
Per a press release, the track had been in the process as part of an upcoming album, when Physicist Professor Brian Cox invited her to write a song for his ‘Emergence’ tour.
The track was recorded with a full orchestra at Miraval Studios in Provence, and takes its name from the NASA probes launched in 1977, which contained Carl Sagan’s
‘Voyager Golden Record’ – a document of sights, sounds, and greetings from Earth to explain the planet to any intelligent extraterrestrial life that might intercept them.
Rich in expanding string arrangements and eerie synthesiser, ‘Voyager’ sees Harvey contemplate our small place in the universe. Listen below.
Speaking about the track, Harvey said: “I was excited for the challenge to compose a song in the ‘voice’ of Voyager 2. I have long been fascinated by the spacecraft and its journey, and asked myself what it might say to us if it could? This was an inspiring route to take to develop the song.
“The song had already started life as part of the ongoing work towards my new album, so when Professor Brian Cox invited me to write a piece for his new show, I sent him the voice memo of this song to see if it resonated. It immediately made him think of the Voyager craft and the sound of its signal being sent back to Earth. With these ideas as my starting point, I let the song develop, and discussed an orchestral accompaniment with Dario Marianelli.
“I’m very happy with the end result, and it’s wonderful to hear the orchestral score bring such expansiveness to my music. I thoroughly enjoyed researching the history and journey of Voyager 1 and 2, and was glad to be able to quote the great Carl Sagan within the song, and his famous description of our fragile and beautiful ‘pale blue dot’.”
Last year saw Harvey appear on the ‘Los Angeles Rising’ wildfire relief benefit compilation album alongside Nick Cave, Devo, Gary Numan, Primal Scream and more.
Harvey also joined a host of artists last November in calling on the UK government to uphold its previous pledge to put a cap on secondary ticket prices.
Her last album 2023’s ‘I Inside The Old Year Dying’ scored a four-star review from NME, which read: “‘I think the album is about searching, looking… and seeking meaning,’ Harvey said. While the meaning part is sometimes tough to decipher – far more so than her previous work – it’s not the answer here that’s important but the journey.
“It takes a little time to immerse yourself in Harvey’s world, but once there, you won’t want to leave.”
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