On November 13, Grammy-winning vocalist and songwriter Seal will release a new album titled System on Warner Bros. Records. It is the artist’s fifth studio album, and the first since Seal IV was released in 2003.
According to Seal, System, which features layers of synths, acoustic guitar and electronic beats, “is a return to my roots. I wanted to go back to the guitar, to the very first instrument I wrote ‘Crazy’ and ‘Killer’ on, and get back to the fundamentals of what I really love to do.”
Seal turned to British musician and songwriter Stuart Price, who co-wrote and produced Madonna’s 2005 release Confessions on a Dance Floor, as well as Grammy-winning remixes for No Doubt and Coldplay, to help him with the album. “It was quite evident from the first track that Stuart and I were on the same page,” Seal says, “that I’d found someone who was able to elaborate on and execute my vision for this record. He loved the songs and I loved his production technique, and we just took it from there. He’s one of those rare people who plays instruments, understands music theory, and gets what a singer goes through when he is singing a song.”
Seal’s signature vocal sound is prevalent on the new tracks “Swoosh,” “Amazing” (the lead-off single) and “Wedding Day,” an emotional ballad that Seal wrote the morning that he married supermodel Heidi Klum, with whom he has three children.
“Family, my wife and children—that’s my reason for being,” Seal says. “Everything is done with them in mind, so perhaps that’s the reason this new album is up-tempo. It does feel like a celebration of life. I am finally in a content and happy place to the point where I feel like I need to sing about it. It’s made me want to address things that are close to home. That’s why the album is called System. It’s saying that against the odds, we have chosen to take control of our emotional system. Not being a victim of a system that’s already in place, but creating our own.”
To read Seal’s personal blog, listen to streaming audio and watch music video clips, visit www.seal.com.
