Five years after his last release, NEWTON FAULKNER’s new single, ‘Alright Alright Alright’, precedes his eighth studio album, ‘OCTOPUS’, due out on September 19th, 2025 on Cooking Vinyl Records.
At his Islington Assembly Hall tour finale in November 2024, the renowned British singer-songwriter initiated a new chapter by cutting-off his iconic ginger dreadlocks. The haircut, which took place during an acoustic performance of his single “Dream Catch Me,” benefited the Teenage Cancer Trust while it also symbolised a new direction for Faulkner, both visually and musically.
To Faulkner, this transformation is much more significant than a simple change in looks .
“I felt like my hair was tying me to the past,” he explained. “The guy that sang ‘Dream Catch Me’ from under a large pile of hair is a distant memory and has been for a while.”
The artist embraces realness in his creative choices and refers to his current orientation as “freedom from the past.”
“This is about letting go, there is no part of this record that is trying to recreate anywhere I’ve been before, however well it might have gone. This is me, this is my head, this is what I love.”
Although only just turning forty, Faulkner’s impressive career spans nearly two decades, beginning with his breakthrough debut album “Hand Built by Robots” (2007), which reached #1 in the UK charts and achieved double-platinum status. He followed the success with his “Rebuilt by Humans” (2009), a #3 Gold-certified album, with “Write It on Your Skin” (2012), his second UK #1.
‘Alright Alright Alright’ marks a notable shift from Faulkner’s usual style, incorporating a distorted Hofner Violin Bass in place of his customary acoustic guitar.
“I was in the studio having more fun than anyone should be allowed have at work and I didn’t give a f*ck what anyone would think of the track,” Faulkner explains. “The fact that it is now the first single of my eighth studio album is mind blowing to me.”
The new track features vocal contributions from Ukrainian duo The Bloom Twins, whom Faulkner credits with adding “a layer of ice cool surrealism” to the song.
“It’s also heartbreaking and very eye-opening talking to someone that flies home to Ukraine four times a year,” he notes about their collaboration. “When I first met them they had just got back to East London from their family home outside Kyiv where missiles fly over the roof on a regular basis.”
![The Bloom Twins 2014 photo credit Paul Hudson [CC]](https://rawramp.me/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/the-bloom-twins-2014-photo-credit-paul-hudson-cc.jpg)
‘OCTOPUS’ signifies the longest time interval between Faulkner studio albums, and the hiatus has been a period that the artist has dedicated to finding new lines of self-expression. Working from his home studio in East London, Faulkner approached songwriting from fresh perspectives, incorporating diverse sonic elements throughout the album.
‘Alright Alright Alright’ will be available across all streaming platforms from today, with the full album ‘OCTOPUS’ to follow 19th September 2025 via Cooking Vinyl Records.
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