Ben Folds puts Nick Hornby’s words to music

Cheeky tinkler Ben Folds releases an album of songs with lyrics by UK author Nick Hornby.

The friends came up with the idea of collaborating on an album over dinner in 2009.

A year later, after Hornby emailed twelve lyrical tales and Folds put them to music, the album Lonely Avenue will see the light of day on September 24 through Warner Music.

It seems like a match made in heaven, both artists adept at analysing the human condition with heart and humour.

The album’s stories cover varied ground, from a tale of a mother with her child on hospital on New Year’s Eve to pondering the work of ‘50s pop lyricist Doc Pomus.

Folds created the music with the help of master pop string arranger Paul Buckmaster, who has worked on albums by David Bowie, Elton John and Leonard Cohen.

Folds told Paste that musically he “ran the gamut between being as simple as I’ve ever been, and sometimes having to go Shostakovich on some of them.”


Undercover.com.au