'Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea', the sixth PJ Harvey album is
set for worldwide release on October 23rd.
The much anticipated follow-up to 1998's 'Is This Desire?' features 12 original
tracks all written by P J Harvey. The album, produced & performed by P J
Harvey, Rob Ellis & Mick Harvey, was recorded by Head in Great Linford
Manor in March/April 2000 and mixed by Victor Van Vugt at 'The Fallout
Shelter' in May 2000. Much of the record was written in, and influenced by,
Harvey's six month stay in New York during 1999 and sees a return to the
energetic style of Harvey's earlier releases.
From its first incarnation, PJ Harvey commanded attention. Polly Jean Harvey
formed the bass / drums / guitar trio in 1991 in Somerset and by autumn they
had released their debut single, 'Dress', on indie label Too Pure. With a
second single, 'Sheela-Na-Gig' in February 1992, PJ Harvey had begun an
impressive critical climb which set the stage for a highly anticipated album
release the following month.
'Dry' was hailed as an astonishing debut, not just in the UK but worldwide and
especially in the United States where it earned places in album of the year
charts from New York Times, The Village Voice and Rolling Stone which
named Harvey Best Songwriter and Best New Female Singer.
In 1993, PJ Harvey signed to Island Records and began work on a follow up
album. The band went into the studio with Steve Albini in Minneapolis and the
resulting album, 'Rid Of Me', was released in early '93. With the album
supported by a lengthy world tour, drawing increasingly wider audiences.
However, by the end of the tour, Polly made the decision to dissolve the
original trio and explore working with other musicians. She introduced her solo
career with '4-Track Demos' in the autumn of 1993 which comprised of 14
songs, a mixture of unreleased material and demos for 'Rid Of Me'.
'To Bring You My Love' followed in 1995, an eclectic and starkly original album
on which, as well as vocals, Harvey played guitar, vibes, percussion and all
keyboards. She enlisted a variety of musicians to play on this album,
including John Parish (who co-produced along with Flood and Harvey), former
Captain Beefheart sideman Eric Drew Feldman and Joe Gore, known for his
work with Tom Waits. The tour which followed saw Harvey adopt a theatrical
edge to her live performance. She was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize
and two Grammys, received '1995 Artist Of The Year' awards from Rolling
Stone and Spin and gained album of the year acknowledgements across the
board.
Harvey then spent time working on a variety of collaborations, including
'Dance Hall At Louse Point' where her words accompanied the music of John
Parish for both an album and live accompaniment to the Mark Bruce Dance
Company production of the same name. She also made contributions to
records by Pascal Comelade ('Green Eyes' and 'Love Too Soon'), Nick Cave
('Henry Lee' - Murder Ballads) and Tricky ('Broken Homes' - Angels With Dirty
Faces).
Recording her fifth album, 'Is This Desire?' in London and Dorset, Harvey again
teamed up with Parish, Gore and Feldman, as well as Mick Harvey from the
Bad Seeds and Rob Ellis from the original PJ Harvey line-up. It was released
in September '98 and featured 12 new tracks. Once again, it attracted plaudits
on both sides of the Atlantic as Harvey received her third Grammy and Brit
Award nominations and became the first artist to be nominated three times for
the Mercury Music Prize.
She continues to work on extracurricular projects and has made contributions
to film soundtracks including reinterpretations of standards 'Is That All There
Is?' for Basquiat and 'Nickel Under The Foot' for the Tim Robbins' movie
'Cradle Will Rock.' She also scored the soundtrack to 'Stella Does Tricks' with
Nick Bicat.
In addition to her musical career, Polly Jean Harvey made her acting debut as
Mary Magdalene in the Hal Hartley movie 'The Book Of Life', has featured in
films by English director, Sara Miles, has exhibited sculpture in galleries
across the country and has had poetry published.
