The Music’s Rob Harvey has announced that his debut solo album is finished and he will share new music “in the autumn”.
The singer and guitarist was the frontman of the influential Leeds alternative rock band from their formation in 1999 until their eventual split in 2011, and has gone on to be a touring member of Kasabian and a songwriter for the likes of Louis Tomlinson, The Streets and Clean Bandit.
This week (June 8), Harvey took to Instagram to confirm that “the album is mastered” and he is “aiming to get some music to you in the autumn”, which he is “super excited and grateful” about.
Expanding on the project on Instagram Stories, Harvey added: “I’ve been trying to find the courage to make my own album for years. When I was younger I felt like I knew what I wanted to say and anger energised a lot of the words and action.”
“I couldn’t handle the pressure of being in a band,” he continued. “It broke me. I was 22 and I have to give up a lot to maintain mental clarity and health to perform. Rehab was a blessing and came at a scary time in my personal development.”
He went on to say that he found “shelter” in writing songs for other artists as it allowed him to “express myself still without the pressure of having to stand on stage or say anything too specific about how I feel”.
“I’ve been collecting songs along the way that felt like only I could sing though,” he explained. “I just had to find the right time to do it. I still don’t know what I want to fully say but I think that confusion and dance with the human condition made for interesting ideas. I hope you like the collection of songs.”
He concluded by saying: “It’s easy to let the wildness of the world scratch my heart. But the album really allowed me to focus that emotion and frustration into something positive. I feel like the modern world has a way of attacking our senses from tv, phone..etc and I wanted to focus on beauty and love. I poured my heart into the recording and writing. I don’t have much to offer but I like to think maybe singing can give some light and hope to the people who will listen to it.”
The Music recorded three albums during their time together, with their 2002 self-titled debut including the UK Top 20 singles ‘Take The Long Road And Walk It’ and ‘The Truth Is No Words’. They followed it up with ‘Welcome To The North’ in 2004 and ‘Strength In Numbers’ in 2008.
In 2011, Harvey told NME about the band’s decision to split, saying he was “not enjoying it anymore” and “needed a new challenge”.
They did reform in 2020 and played a string of shows, including a hometown show in Leeds’ Temple Newsam that was postponed due to the pandemic.