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Music

You'll Have to Wait Two Years for Matthew Herbert's Brexit-Themed Album

The collaborative big-band project's release will coincide with Britain's leaving the EU in 2019.
Photo courtesy of the artist

British DJ-producer Matthew Herbert has announced his latest album, but don't expect it to drop anytime soon. The forthcoming, as-yet untitled project will be a big-band album in response to Brexit, and its release on Herbert's Accidental label is scheduled to coincide with Britain's exit from the European Union in 2019.

The two-year project is scheduled to begin when the UK government triggers Article 50 and begins the two-year process of leaving the EU. Intended as a collaborative effort transcending national borders, it will involve a series of concerts, recording session, and workshops across Europe. As described in a press release: "The album will begin with just one sound and then add layer upon layer, adding musicians, singers, choirs, soloists and big bands until it reaches upwards of 1,000 people performing at once," including people singing in different languages.

Alongside the album news, Herbert has also announced the Brexit Sound Swap, a website to which anyone can record and upload a sound up to three seconds in length. Once someone uploads a track, he or she can listen to and download any and all of the sounds uploaded by other users. The website is currently in beta and will be publicly launched when Article 50 is triggered.

Stated Herbert in a press release, "I simply wouldn't be the musician or person I am were it not for the countless collaborators and interactions with people from very different backgrounds, and nationalities to my own. I have learned so much, from so many disparate and often overlooked voices. The message from parts of the Brexit campaign were that as a nation we are better off alone. I refute that idea entirely and wanted to create a project that embodies the idea of collaboration from start to finish."