Today Newcastle singer-songwriter Callum Pitt announces his debut album “In the Balance”, produced by John Martindale (Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs & The Pale White) due out on June 2nd, 2023. Inspired by the rawness and honesty of artists like Elliott Smith, Julien Baker, Adrianne Lenker & Sufjan Stevens, Callum Pitt imbues his indie-folk with grand, orchestral, chamber pop sensibility plus an alt-rock edge. Despite using music often as a canvas to openly discuss depression & anxiety, as well as political unrest, Callum still manages to imprint feelings of optimism and unity, alongside genuine warmth and honesty, throughout his songs.
The announcement comes with the release of anthemic new single “I Feel a God and Devil in This Room”, a vulnerable track backdropped by angelic vocals, sax, banjos and a string quartet. The song explores the limitless potential for good and evil surrounding us on earth “I don’t believe in any of the religions, but do believe there’s something more than this world. We definitely needn’t look any further than Earth for heaven and hell – we love killing each other & inflicting suffering and always have, but at the same time we’re surrounded by overwhelming beauty and this collective spirituality which presents itself in spaces like music, the arts and communities”, adds Pitt. Accompanying video by Gareth Williams features interpretive dancer Mia Fuller filmed in The Common Room, a heritage Grade II listed building in Newcastle, where Pitt played his first ever headline show. Watch the video below.
Debut album “In the Balance” pinpoints back to one night in 2019, where Pitt was handed an earth-shaking reminder of how much hangs in the balance with each passing second. Minutes after he waved goodbye to his brother and parents as they left his house, a fire engine hit the back edge of their car, sending them spinning. They were all unharmed. But if the car was in the engine’s path a fraction of a second later — if Pitt had said one more word at the doorstep — it would have ploughed directly into the drivers’ side.
He wrote the album, alongside working, over long, eleven-hour days in his bedroom, working only with a nylon-string guitar and cheap 90s keyboard. In the studio, he worked with long-time producer John Martindale to build the scrappy demos into nuanced and rich recordings, featuring a string quartet, trumpets and saxophone. While writing, several different events prompted Pitt to explore questions of existentialism and fate. Besides his family’s car accident, a close friend almost died of an acid overdose after leaving a party at Pitt’s house, and was saved by a passing dog walker at first light. Another friend, with whom Pitt had played music growing up, died by suicide.
28-year-old Pitt has been working on his craft for a decade, beginning in the Newcastle pub scene and gradually refining his thoughtful, poetic songwriting voice. He won the Alan Hull Award for songwriters in 2019, and the Fender Player Plus competition in 2021. Meanwhile, he’s studying a masters in Occupational Therapy, and has worked with children, young people and adults with disabilities through various outlets, including therapeutic music work. These are experiences that shaped “In the Balance”, his first true body of work, giving him a new perspective on the cathartic and unifying power of music.
“In the Balance” is an astonishing debut album that marks Pitt as an artist with equal parts vision and talent. As he takes it on stage, he hopes to use his music as a vehicle to create space for other up-and-coming songwriters, including booking shows for fellow artists, and emphasizing accessibility and inclusivity. “The North East is a really nice music scene. I’ve got a number of peers who are all really supportive and non-competitive. It doesn’t feel cold, it feels like everyone wants each other to succeed”, he says. This same warmth is key to “In the Balance”; in a chaotic universe, the instances of connection both big and small can feel like miracles.
Pre-order “In the Balance” here.
Tracklist:
1. I Feel a God & Devil in This Room
2. Black Holes in the Sky
3. Crow
4. Fraction of a Second
5. More Than This
6. Mayfly
7. Moths and Butterflies
8. Uncanny Moon
9. The Will of the River
Weblinks:
www.callumpittmusic.co.uk
www.facebook.com/callumpittmusic
