Craig Gould releases emotional second single from forthcoming album: News

By At The Barrier on 28th November 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Craig Gould set to release his deeply emotional new single, Captain Of The Seas. The song is available on 30th November 2021 with all profits going to charity.

Captain Of The Seas is taken from Craig Gould’s debut album set for release in Spring 2022. The song is a compelling folk narrative – Gould ruminates on the significance of the single.

“It was just after lunch. I called my wife, telling her something wasn’t right. My heart was beating out of my chest. I didn’t know what was happening. I was scared. I told her I was coming home, said goodbye, and made my way to get the train. I was meant to head to an important work trip, and being a proud man holding a senior management role, I didn’t want to let anyone down; I thought a good night’s sleep would sort me out and I’d be back at work tomorrow. As I got to the platform I started to feel like I was on fire. I felt heat travelling up me like never before. I pulled my coat off, but it made no difference. Sweat was pouring out of me and I felt like I was burning alive. I began to panic. I needed help. I began to look around for someone, anyone, then it started to go blurry and dark, darker and darker. I was terrified. The next thing I remember was asking myself why it was so cold. Had my wife turned the heating off? It felt so cold in bed? I wasn’t in bed. I was on Platform 9 of Birmingham New St, covered in blood, with rail staff and paramedics around me trying to keep me conscious…”

That was in November of 2016. Craig collapsed and hit his head off a concrete platform. He was admitted to hospital, with checks revealing that despite a heavy blow to his skull, he hadn’t sustained any damage, or had a stroke as was first suspected. He was discharged from hospital that same day, only later being diagnosed with a severe mental breakdown due to stress and exhaustion. Burnout, followed by depression, crippling anxiety and PTSD. It took Craig years to get better, and he has always maintained that he only got through those darkest of days because of the family and friends he had supporting him.

Not all people have that support, and they are the ones who are not so fortunate to pull through. Craig knew how close he had been to the other side. It was this stark truth that inspired Craig to begin his project, and what leads us to his second single – Captain of the Seas – which is being released 5 years to the month of Craig’s hospital admission.

I wanted to turn the anniversary date into a date to celebrate what we’re trying to do and how far we’ve come. We can show people that you can get through those times, but we need to look out for ourselves AND each other.

Captain Of The Seas is a deeply affecting and moving song. Musically, it starts out with a guitar melody a little like John Lennon‘s Working Class Hero and as the song progresses you can hear dashes of Cat Stevens in the rich tapestry that Gould weaves. Violin lines dance solemnly throughout to devastating effect and sounds coalesce to vividly create the image of crashing waves. It is truly an image that you can imagine when you close your eyes and submit to the song.

Lyrically, you can tell that this is hugely personal. It is poetic and haunting. When people bare their souls in music like this, it is hard not to be taken aback. Craig Gould certainly uses his experience to create something positively memorable in his song. He constructs his own platform to show how far he has come since that dark day in 2016, and how he is navigating his life going forward with everything. Craig, and the song, is a beacon of hope for anyone that has suffered or continues to suffer with mental health.

Featured Artists on the song include BLÁNID who provides guest vocals who’s debut single Fools Gold received airplay on BBC R1, as well as being a featured artist on Netflix’s The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf. Anna Corcoran joins on piano with her beautiful style and work. Anna has performed on recordings with Laura Marling and Robert Vincent. Run Remedy is a supreme multi-instrumentalist and folk singer/songwriter who brings the whole story to life with haunting violin. Miles Myerscough-Harris has produced, mixed and mastered the song at Under the Apple Tree Studios, UK.

All of the profits from this release will be donated to CALM – Campaign Against Living Miserably, a charity that Craig is very proud to be working in partnership with. The song will be available in digital format for streaming and purchase from all reputable online music sources from 30.11.21.

Get a taster of Craig Gould’s sound from his previous single, Ain’t No Place To Hide, below.

You can find out more about CALM here.