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New Pagans share Derek Jarman inspired single ‘There We Are John’

January 20, 2023

Critically lauded Irish indie-punk group New Pagans  have released their excellent new single ‘There We Are John’, from their upcoming second album Making Circles of Our Own  (17th February 2023 via Big Scary Monsters ).

The single is directly inspired by artist, filmmaker, activist Derek Jarman. as bassist Claire Miskimmin explains: “Derek Jarman was a visionary avant-garde artist & filmmaker, with a career spanning four decades and multiple genres. An important figure in the history of gay culture, he’s been described as the Queer Pagan Punk.”

New Pagans ‘ vocalist Lyndsey McDougall  continues: “I first encountered the work of Derek Jarman through his coastal garden, Prospect Cottage in Dungeness. When we wrote this song, we had just lost our home and had moved in with my parents (as a result of restrictions around the creative industry during Covid) and my dream of owning a garden seemed further away than ever. Somehow, studying Jarman’s Prospect Cottage garden brought me great serenity and hope. In a place considered so desolate, Jarman created a beautiful, fruitful landscape. This song is about hope.”

The new single is taken from the band’s new album Making Circles of Our Own  out 17th February

New Pagans ‘ critically acclaimed debut album, The Seed The Vessel The Roots and All  was a self-reflective and self-critical release. Instead, Making Circles of Our Own  is more poised, curious and outward-looking, but not without its own moments of angry power. Focusing on the societal limits placed on age and gender, the album is a statement of intent from the group, recalling elements of Pixies PJ Harvey , and Quicksand .

Making Circles of Our Own  is New Pagans ‘ successor to the debut The Seed, The Vessel, The Roots and All  (March 2021, Big Scary Monsters ), which received acclaimed from Stereogum, Kerrang!, The Independent, NPR and more, and led to tours with Skunk Anansie  and Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls.

New Pagans  will be touring Making Circles of Our Own  in March.

Dates as follows:

Mar 02: Ulster Sports Club, Belfast
Mar 07: Glasgow Broadcast
Mar 08: Newcastle Zerox
Mar 09: Manchester Gullivers
Mar 11: London Boston Music Roomar 13: Bristol The Exchange
Mar 14: Nottingham The Bodega
Mar 15: Liverpool EBGBs

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