Gruff Rhys unveils new songs "I Want My Old Life Back" and "Liberate Me From the Love Song"

"I Want My Old Life Back" and "Liberate Me From the Love Song" will appear on Rhys' upcoming soundtrack alongside previous outings "Orea", "Layer Upon Layer", "Amen", "Love Love Love", "People Are Pissed" and "Arogaldarth".

""I Want My Old Life Back" is featured in a tense domestic scene in the film as the character’s lives have been turned upside down by the trauma of injury," Rhys explains. "I actually wrote the song after my van got nearly totalled in early 2020 during a flash flood on the A1 at 3am after a gig. I was stranded in a pub for three days as I waited for it to be fixed, like my own personal lockdown a few weeks before the big one when the song seemed to make even more sense. It’s a very straight up live band track that features Kliph Scurlock on drums, Osian Gwynedd on piano, Stephen Black on bass and string arrangements by Gruff ab Arwel - recorded by Ali Chant and mixed by Llion Robertson."

Rhys adds, "I recorded "Liberate Me From The Love Song" at Kris Jenkins' studio Wings For Jesus in Cardiff, with some keyboards and drum machines. I made some more refined versions that were used in the film but this early rough version captures the song better. The song itself is the result of listening to too much (or not enough) Outlaw Country music but doesn’t really sound like it. It’s probably the most noticeable song in the film - a couple are going through an amicable but difficult period of change and this is the soundtrack (whilst they’re eating chips on the beach)."

The Almond and the Seahorse is a new film directed by Celyn Jones and Tom Stern, and stars Rebel Wilson, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Trine Dyrholm and more.

The 22-track score was recorded throughout 2021 and 2022, and features contributions from members of the National Orchestra of Wales. The Almond and the Seahorse soundtrack will follow Rhys' 2021 album Seeking New Gods.