Longboat – Proud Of My Postcode

There’s something very appealing about hearing Britain described by someone who’s come from somewhere else and actually has a real affection for it. That’s the premise of Longboat’s *Proud Of My Postcode* which is a fully electronic album that takes a look at British history, London life and the little things that you just don’t notice. Longboat were formed in Seattle in 2011 and have amassed a very substantial back catalogue through a constant state of experimentation. This latest release is the 37th album in that catalogue. It was recorded at Strongroom Studios in Shoreditch with Will Davies doing the engineering. It’s an album that brings together electronic production and observational songwriting. It’s not an attempt to give you a definitive view of Britain. It’s a view from a personal place, one that’s informed by the contrast between the natural world around Seattle and the sheer depth of history in the British towns and cities. That’s what gives it its character, it’s a curious, affectionate take on the subject.

What’s so interesting about *Proud Of My Postcode* is that it’s just as much about the everyday, the ordinary, as it is about the big stories of the past. Longboat’s founder is very much interested in the little things, the little habits, the familiar places, the little moments that make up British life in the face of all the political and economic turmoil. There’s a real sense of play in the track titles, from “A Fox in Hoxton” and “My Victorian Poltergeist” to “This Primark Jumper”, “The Dullest Blade” and “Mudlark Life”. Others like “Keep It Imperial”, “All along the Fleet”, “Waterloo Situation” and “The English Summer Chill’ point to a songwriter who is very much in tune with the historical and cultural layers of the British experience and the contemporary world. The album is a good example of the freedom the project has from the traditional expectations of songwriting. Rather than going for the standard romantic thing, the songs are all drawn from the people, the places and the world around the artist. Longboat describes that as being liberating and it’s easy to see how that allows the project to go in all sorts of different directions. It’s often a solo studio thing, but Longboat will bring in live rock and jazz, strings, horns and backing vocals when the music requires it. This time around it’s all entirely electronic and that gives the project a very distinct creative focus.

Beyond the studio Longboat’s connection with Britain is continuing to grow. The founder splits his time between the UK and Seattle with plans to set up home in Britain and is already playing piano versions of around 100 of the Longboat songs in and around Clerkenwell. That commitment to live performance is very much in keeping with the project’s independent, human-led approach to music and there is absolutely no AI in the mix. With over 500 songs written and 39 albums in the wider Longboat catalogue it’s never been short of ideas and Proud Of My Postcode is another example of the band taking a different musical approach to a different subject. It’s not an album that claims to tell the whole story of Britain but it is an album that is very much about the experience of looking at a country, finding the beauty and the humour in the everyday and making that into sound. It’s an affectionate electronic portrait of Britain from the point of view of an outsider who is increasingly at home.