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Baker's Dozen

Death Before Silence: Ed Harcourt's Favourite Albums
Wyndham Wallace , March 4th, 2013 06:44

Singer, songwriter, pianist and all-round bon viveur Ed Harcourt talks to Wyndham Wallace about his favourite records

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Max Richter - Henry May Long OST
A friend of mine who’s a guitarist got me into the Waltz With Bashir soundtrack that he did. I just loved it, and I investigated further. Henry May Long is a film that I don’t think really anyone saw: a proper art-house film. I haven’t seen it, but the soundtrack is so beautiful. It’s all string quartet, piano and glass harmonica, and I’m obsessed with it. In fact I was listening to it this morning. It’s something that if it comes on my iPod or stereo I will never switch it off. I can’t switch it off. I have to listen to it to the end. There’s this one track called ‘Dinner And The Ship of Dreams’, and literally I will probably have that played at my funeral, it’s so beautiful.

It’s not like any of these other ones he’s done which are a little bit more experimental. It’s almost baroque in places. It sounds like there could be a bit of Purcell in there or something. It’s just beautiful. I actually approached him last year to do a string quartet on a song that’s on my next album. It’s called ‘Glass Harmonica’, and it was influenced by the Henry May Long soundtrack. And he said yes. I’m just trying to pencil him in: stalk him, and badger him and annoy him.