Willy Mason has announced the release of his much anticipated third studio album ‘Carry On’ on December 3rd. This will be Willy’s first release on Fiction Records, home to Elbow, The Maccabees and White Lies amongst many others.

 Coming in the wake of his critically acclaimed and gold certified debut ‘Where The Humans Eat’ which included the now classic track ‘Oxygen’, and the progressive sound of his 2007 sophomore release ‘If The Ocean Gets Rough’, ‘Carry On’ has been five years in the making.

 Decamping to his childhood home in Martha’s Vineyard once the dust had settled on a busy period of touring the world and releasing two critically acclaimed records, Willy used his time at home as a means of re-rooting to his childhood community. With that came the creative freedom and inspiration to write the songs that now form ‘Carry On’.

 Willy explains ‘‘I felt like I wanted, needed to get stuck in somewhere, to keep up with what was going on with the people my age.’’

 Having been introduced to producer Dan Carey by a mutual friend, Willy headed to the altogether different climes of Streatham, South London to record what would become ‘Carry On’. Dan’s background was varied and brilliant, working with the likes of MIA, Hot Chip and Kylie Minogue, artists not immediately akin to the sound of Willy Mason. However Dan’s use of rhythm and bass along with the prospect of using drumboxes was something that intrigued Willy; he admits “It didn’t make sense to me, it scared me, but I was open to trying it.”

 The resulting work is Mason’s most ambitious and fully realized work to date. Elements of dub and reggae infuse themselves seamlessly with guitar, low strings, and Mason’s inimitable gravel deep vocal to deliver songs awash with the sentiments of hope, disillusionment, love and lost connections.

 “I think of this record as the third and final chapter to a particular narrative that started with Where the Humans Eat,” says Willy. “It’s a narrative that’s loosely based on me, on my character through performance, and I think that by completing this album, I’m sort of closing the door on that and opening up a whole new world of possibilities.”

 Willy Mason has a string of UK dates in the coming months, including headline shows in December, and support slots with Ben Howard and Mumford & Sons – see below for a full list of the UK dates. For more info and a free download of new track Restless Fugitive go to http://www.willymason.net. It would be great if you could preview the upcoming show, I’ve attached a press shot. Also let me know if you’d like to review any of the shows and/or have a chat with Willy Mason.

Supporting Ben Howard

 2 Nov The Dome, Brighton
 3 Nov Pavillions, Plymouth
 4 Nov Great Hall, Cardiff
 5 Nov Colston Hall, Bristol
 7 Nov Olympia, Dublin
 9 Nov The Waterfront, Belfast
 10 Nov O2 Academy, Glasgow
 12 Nov Apollo, Manchester
 14 Nov O2 Academy, Leeds
 16 Nov O2 Academy, Newcastle
 17 Nov Music Hall, Aberdeen
 19 Nov Corn Exchange, Cambridge
 20 Nov Engine Shed, Lincoln
 21 Nov O2 Academy, Leicester
 22 Nov Rock City, Nottingham
 24 Nov O2 Academy, Birmingham
 25 Nov O2 Academy, Bournemouth
 26 Nov Guild Hall, Southampton
 28 Nov Brixton Academy, London
 29 Nov Brixton Academy, London

Headline Shows
1 Dec King Tuts, Glasgow UK
 2 Dec Ruby Lounge, Manchester UK
 3 Dec Glee Club, Birmingham UK
 4 Dec Thekla, Bristol UK
 5 Dec Scala, London UK