Richard Walters announces EP ‘Company’, shares track with Ainslie Wills today
February 14, 2025 BY Emma Orland
Today, acclaimed singer-songwriter Richard Walters has announced details of his new EP, Company (out 4th April via Nettwerk). This special collaboration release features some of his favourite songwriters and musicians, exploring the passage of time, love, and personal growth, from poignant reflections on past romance and seasonal changes to intimate confessions and the magic of unplanned moments.
To accompany the announcement, Walters has shared the enchanting track ‘Paris’ featuring Australian singer-songwriter Ainslie Wills (listen here and below). With a rich, nostalgic sound enhanced by Wills’ guest vocals and lush strings, the song is about the lingering magic of past romance and the passage of time. It captures the enduring enchantment of love amidst the everyday realities of life.
“In my twenties, I spent a few years in Paris, which is a city I love and often dream about, even now. While I was there, I ended up crossing paths with the person I’d end up marrying a few years later, although we were living separate lives at the time,” Walters explained. “This is a song about love and time travel, how the reality of life 15 years later may not match the heady days of living in the city of light, but when I look at her, I still feel that excitement and freedom, even if I’m cleaning up after a 4-year-old or she’s packing a lunch box for an 8-year-old. There’s still magic in those moments. I wanted this one to sound like Richard Hawley, shamelessly romantic and sentimental, with a beautiful guest vocal by Ainslie Wills, and lots and lots of strings.”
Buy / stream: https://richardwalters.ffm.to/paris
Recorded mostly at Luke Sital-Singh’s studio in West London, a charmingly tiny room in a church crammed with instruments and toys, the Company EP was a dream project for Richard Walters, “this project was a bit of a dream honestly. Working with other artists and creative brains is one of the greatest things about making music, so to put together a whole EP and have the opportunity to invite some artists I really admire to collaborate was a total joy.”
A fully collective process, each track on the EP is a collaboration with musical peers that Walters deeply admires, from the intimate ‘Migrations’ with Katherine Priddy, and the Brian Wilson-esque harmonies of ‘Sudden Twilight’ featuring Nashville-based artist Fairhazel, to the lo-fi elegance of ‘Just Tired’ with Luke Sital-Singh (the latter artist also produced the majority of the EP). There’s even a surprising cover of ‘Nude’ with Daudi Matsiko and Audrey Powne, one of Walters’ favourite Radiohead songs.
Discussing the recording process, Walters adds “It feels like it was a bit of a back-to-basics approach, there was a personal need to ‘Pink Moon’ it and allow the songs to breathe, gold paint any imperfections and allow the music to just live and grow without too much embellishment. It felt good to go in with that attitude, especially as guests started to join the sessions – it allowed room for other ideas and other personalities to find their place.”
Company tracklist:
Paris (ft. Ainslie Wills)
Migrations (ft. Katherine Priddy)
Just Tired (ft. Luke Sital-Singh)
Nude (ft. Daudi Matsiko & Audrey Powne)
Sudden Twilight (ft. Fairhazel)
About Richard Walters:
An artist, performer and Grammy nominated songwriter based in the UK, Richard Walters work has collectively amassed over 100 million streams. Since his debut release in 2004, his music has been featured on several TV shows including Grey’s Anatomy, CSI: Miami and Tin Star, while receiving praise from The Guardian, Clash, The Line Of Best Fit and other tastemaker press. Richard’s solo releases have also gained notable support from BBC 6 Music’s Lauren Laverne and Guy Garvey, plus BBC Radio 2’s Jo Whiley and Dermot O’Leary over the years.
Sought-after by stars including Grammy-winner Joe Henry, British icon Alison Moyet and Oscar-nominated actress and singer Florence Pugh, Walters has even lent his talents to electronic artists including Kx5, Solomun, Sonny Fodera, Sultan + Shepard and more.
Always prolific, Richard is also a member of the group LYR (with poet laureate Simon Armitage and producer Patrick Pearson), and of the duo Sun Lo (a collaboration with Juno nominated electronic artist ATTLAS), who released the album titled Shapes In My Head in 2023.
