With new EP Tread Water on the way via Tiny Library Records, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Niall Summerton has unveiled the title track to give fans an indication as to what to expect from the release. Summerton’s work has long caught our eye for its attention to emotional detail, be it the breezy songs on What Am I Made Of? or the shadowy style of more recent single ‘Train‘, and the new release promises to be no different.
Unhurried in tone, ‘Tread Water’ is both an ode to friendship and an antidote to our busy world. “This song was inspired by a trip to London to see my best friend,” as Niall Summerton explains. “It was a really blissful weekend, as it always is when we’re together. We had no money to do anything particularly nice, had no plans, so just floated around—not a care in the world. “It’s testament to the friendship that we don’t have to be busy to enjoy each other’s company.”
The mood is brought to life by the patient guitar and soothing delivery, a spacious arrangement which allows the surrounding world to bleeds into the gaps. “I’d been hammering Hana Stretton’s debut album Soon and it moulded the sound of this song completely,” as Summerton continues. “There are two field recordings in this song, one from a Wednesday morning in Manchester city centre and one towards the end of the track from the Yorkshire dales. You hear the toot of a tram’s horn and a suitcase pulled across cobbles if you listen closely. It ends with the running water of a river and wind in trees.”
Tread Water will be released on the 13th November via Tiny Library Records.