Maribou State – Together Feat. North Downs (Demo) [Ninja Tune]
Genre-blending, English electronic duo Maribou State announce the deluxe edition of their critically acclaimed album Hallucinating Love, arriving on 21st August via Ninja Tune. Marking a return to the world of one of last year’s most celebrated electronic records, the expanded release features a compelling remix package, alongside original demos of the album tracks, including new single, ‘Together Feat. North Downs (Demo)’.
Originally released exclusively on the Japanese edition of Hallucinating Love, ‘Together Feat. North Downs (Demo)’ now receives its first global release. Preserved in its original form, the track offers a snapshot of Chris Davids and Liam Ivory’s songwriting process, capturing the warmth, emotion and understated beauty that became the defining characteristics of Hallucinating Love.
During the summer of 2022, the duo set up a temporary studio in a country house out in the countryside and invited down everyone who’d been involved in the record so far. In a bid to breathe new life and energy into an album that had begun to lose momentum, they also invited their wider circle of friends. The result is probably one of the most collaborative songs they’ve ever made, the bare bones written by day, the spirit of the song brought to life with friends by night. It was in amongst that festival atmosphere that ‘Together Feat. North Downs (Demo)’ was written, unlocking something different sonically, a track that stood apart from the duo’s usual writing sessions.
“After the trip we spent months trying to produce it up to the standard of the rest of the album, running through around 25 versions but every pass stripped the essence of what made the original demo work. We tried hard to get a version we were happy with, but in the end we had to let it go. Sometimes the thing that makes a demo special is exactly what gets lost trying to finish it.”
Long sought after by fans, its inclusion on the deluxe edition shines a light on one of the duo’s hidden gems. Alongside ‘Together Feat. North Downs (Demo)’, the deluxe version of Hallucinating Love will include features from Lady Wray and Gaidaa.
“The last five years have been some of the most challenging but ultimately most rewarding we’ve experienced as a band. The highs and lows of writing the record itself to seeing it connect with so many people around the world.” says Maribou State. “This collection of demos, sketches and alternate versions captures the album in its rawest form. Together, they form the early foundations of the record and show the emotion behind the music before any final flourishes were added and Hallucinating Love found its final shape.”
With the release of ‘Together Feat. North Downs (Demo)’ and the forthcoming deluxe edition of Hallucinating Love arriving next month, Maribou State invites listeners back into the album’s universe, uncovering the songs and moments that helped shape one of the defining electronic records of last year.
