Oliver Sim has shared a new track called ‘GMT’ and announced a string of headline dates for this autumn.
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The song is the latest preview of The xx musician’s debut solo album ‘Hideous Bastard’, which is due for release on September 9 via Young. It follows the previous singles ‘Romance With A Memory’, ‘Fruit’ and ‘Hideous’.
“‘GMT’ was one of the first songs made for the record,” Sim explained of his stripped-back latest offering.
“I’d chased Jamie [xx, producer] to Australia to escape British winter. We worked in Sydney and road tripped down to Byron Bay, stopping at secluded beaches and listening to a lot of The Beach Boys and Brian Wilson on the way.”
He continued: “The first song we made was ‘GMT’, sampling Brian Wilson’s ‘Smile’. The song was written about pining over a love back home, thousands of miles apart on different time zones. It’s also a love letter to London.”
The track comes with a simplistic video by Laura Jane Coulson, a longtime friend and collaborator of Sim’s. It sees the singer perform ‘GMT’ in front of a changing sky backdrop and visuals of busy city streets.
Tune in here:
“We wanted to make something simple and positive that focused on Oliver’s performance,” Coulson said. “I also wanted to capture his energy and show moments where we see a hint of his off-stage persona. We had so much fun making it.”
Having played his debut London solo show late last month (where he covered Placebo and was joined by bandmate Romy), Sim is scheduled to embark on a North American, European and UK tour this September.
He’ll take to the stage at New Century Hall in Manchester on October 29 before returning to London for a gig at KOKO in Camden Town the following night (October 30).
Tickets go on sale at 10am (local time) next Wednesday (July 13). You can purchase yours here and see the full itinerary below.
Oliver Sim will play:
SEPTEMBER
29 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox
OCTOBER
01 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern
02 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
05 – Chicago, IL – Metro
06 – Toronto, ON – Phoenix Concert Theatre
08 – Washington, DC – Lincoln Theatre
09 – Boston, MA – Royale
10 – New York, NY – Webster Hall
11 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
20 – Copenhagen, DK – Vega
22 – Paris, FR – Le Cabaret Sauvage
23 – Amsterdam, NL – Melkweg
26 – Berlin, DE – Admiralspalast
27 – Hamburg, DE – Uebel & Gefaehrlich
29 – Manchester, UK – New Century Hall
30 – London, UK – KOKO