The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows, the new studio album from Damon Albarn. Originally intended as an orchestral piece inspired by the landscapes of Iceland; this last year has seen Albarn return to the music in lockdown and develop the work to 11 tracks which further explore themes of fragility, loss, emergence and rebirth. The album title is taken from a John Clare poem ‘Love and Memory’.

Albarn says “I have been on my own dark journey while making this record and it led me to believe that a pure source might still exist.”

Damon Albarn’s new album uncovers yet more ground in a career of perpetual musical shifts and exploration. Think expansive orchestral arrangements nestling with intimate melodies, discordance brushing up against infectious majesty, all set to some of Albarn’s most arresting vocal performances to date.