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Yusuf Cat Stevens Lead King of A Land 2 Photo by Aminah Yusuf

Yusuf / Cat Stevens announces new album that's been in the works for a decade with lead single "Take The World Apart"

15 March 2023, 10:27 | Written by Cerys Kenneally

Yusuf / Cat Stevens has announced his 17th album King of a Land, which he's been working on for the past decade, and has released the lead single "Take The World Apart".

"Take The World Apart" is his first release since delivering an acoustic version of "Here Comes The Sun" last month, and is the lead outing from Yusuf / Cat Stevens' upcoming 17th album. He says of the track, "Sometimes you have to take something apart, to find the peace you’re looking for."

King of a Land has been a decade in the making, and will follow Yusuf / Cat Stevens' 2020 album Tea for the Tillerman 2, which was a reimagining of his 1970 album Tea for the Tillerman.

"Looking at the jagged journey of my music, beginning as I did in the 60’s, I would say this new record is a mosaic," he says. "A very clearly defined description of where I've been and who I am."

The earliest recording sessions for King of a Land date back to 2011 at Berlin's Hansa Studios. He continued recording at ICP Studios in Brussels and La Fabrique in Provence, South of France, and other parts of the album - including recording a 60-piece orchestra - were done at Air and Angel studios in London. He also did some additional work from his home garage studio in Dubai. He explains, "Most of the songs started with me playing and recording everything at home in the garage - it’s as close as you can get to being inside my head."

Tracklist:

  1. Train on a Hill
  2. King of a Land
  3. Pagan Run
  4. He is True
  5. All Nights, All Days
  6. Another Night in the Rain
  7. Things.
  8. Son of Mary
  9. Highness
  10. The Boy Who Knew How to Climb Walls
  11. How Good it Feels
  12. Take the World Apart

"Take The World Apart" is out now. Yusuf / Cat Stevens' King of a Land album will arrive on 16 June via BMG, and is available to pre-order now. He'll play the Legends Slot at this year's Glastonbury Festival on 25 June.

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