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Magic M7

by Edward Randell

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about

When I started the process of making an album, I was 34. Twice the age of the 17-year-old Edward who was writing his first break-up song and figuring out Burt Bacharach songs on the piano. That guy knew his friends would tease him for being pretentious, over the top, cringey, but he followed his tastes and creative urges right into the jaws of ridicule.

In the middle of writing the album I took a trip to Berlin, a city I first visited as a wide-eyed teenager. One night in our friend’s apartment in Bergmannkiez we opened a bottle of red wine and I found some old emails I had saved from that first trip. I read them aloud, pausing to make fun of my younger self and his florid travelogue style. But afterwards, I felt ashamed. Ashamed of breaking faith with teenage me.

So Magic M7 is for him. The title comes from the major seventh chords that I learned from Burt, from Carole King and Todd Rundgren, chords that are full of wonder and hope and naïve possibility. In writing it, I tried to say “yes” to every songwriting instinct, no matter how uncool. There’s a key change. And harp. And a disco groove. Because all those protective layers of irony and second-guessing ourselves don’t do us any good. They just keep us from the things we really want.

17 years late, here it is, the first track on my first album. I hope teenage Edward would approve.

lyrics

Who’s that stranger in the corner?
Is it me at seventeen?
Trying on his dad’s fedora
Quoting films he’s never seen
Trying to like the taste of whisky
Trying to like the way I sing
Playing songs I’ve long forgotten
A reminder to be kinder to
The boy who knew more
Than I give him credit for

He knew there was magic in the major seven
If you can open up your heart
Don’t have to try so hard
Not to be caught out trying
It’s only sentimental
If you don’t believe in it

Magic in the major seven
If you can open up your heart
Don’t have to try so hard
Not to be caught out trying
It’s only sentimental
If you don’t believe in it
And I wanna believe again…

Once I dreamt in technicolor
I guess growing up means going grey
Turning down the saturation
Helps me make it through the day
And I’ve been trying not to get my hopes up
‘Cause hope’s a target on your chest
So why am I crying in the kitchen
At a melody compelling me to
Hold out a hand
To the ones who understand

That there is a magic in the major seven…
If you can open up your heart
Don’t have to try so hard
Not to be caught out trying
It’s only sentimental
If you don’t believe in it
And I wanna believe again…

Magic in the major seven
If you can open up your heart
Don’t have to try so hard
Not to be caught out trying
It’s only sentimental
If you don’t believe in it
And I wanna believe…

credits

released April 12, 2024
Written and arranged by Edward Randell
Produced by Chris Hyson and Edward Randell
Engineered by Chris Hyson with additional engineering by Lloyd Haines and Alex Haines at Basement 10.
Mixed and mastered by D. James Goodwin at The isokon.

Edward Randell – vocals, piano, electric guitar, programming
Chris Hyson – electric bass
Thomas Broda – drums, percussion
Alex Haines – electric guitar
Tara Minton – harp
Laura Ayoub – violin
Richard Phillips – cello
Sara Brimer Davey, Sumudu Jayatilaka, Scarlet Halton – backing vocals

Single cover photo by Max Bandicoot
Design by Edward Randell

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Edward Randell London, UK

Edward Randell is a singer and songwriter from south London. With a warm blanket of a voice, slyly sparkling lyrics and melodies that evoke instant nostalgia, his music sounds like James Taylor and Rufus Wainwright sharing a pot of English Breakfast.

Formerly a member of legendary vocal group The Swingles, Edward is due to release his full-length debut in 2024, co-produced with Chris Hyson. ... more

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