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Apr 17, 2019 C Duncan By Christopher Roberts

Scotland’s C Duncan (aka Chris Duncan) released a new album, Health, last month via FatCat. We are honored to premiere a new version of the album’s first single, “Impossible,” which Duncan has recorded exclusively for Under the Radar to debut. The new version is slower, rawer, and more electronic in nature. Whereas the original might have been well suited to a spring afternoon country drive with the windows down, the rework would work better for a midnight cruise through neon-lit empty streets of the city. Listen to it below.

Duncan had this to say about the new version in a statement to Under the Radar: “Throughout the process of writing this song I tried out lots of different moods and tempos, and eventually stuck with a more upbeat version for the album. However, there was something about the slower speed that I wanted to play around with as it sounded weightier and more melancholic, so I decided to re-record this alternative version. I also wanted to create something for Under the Radar to premiere as they have always been a great, and much appreciated, supporter of my music.”

“Impossible” is about the challenges Duncan had making a long distance relationship with an ex-boyfriend work. Duncan explained more in the press release announcing the album: “At one point he was working night shifts, so it was very hard to communicate with each other because our schedules were completely out of sync. I wanted to see him all of the time, but it was impossible to do at that point in time.”

Read our recent My Firsts interview with C Duncan, where he talks about his first broken heart (which was quite recent), his first job, his inaugural email address (which he can still be reached at), and the actor he still has a crush on nearly two decades later.

Also read our positive review of Health.

Previously Duncan shared Health‘s aforementioned first single, “Impossible,” which was one of our Songs of the Week, as well as a video for the song filmed at Europe’s biggest Elvis Presley tribute contest. Then he shared the album’s title track, “Health” (which was also one of our Songs of the Week). Just before the album’s release he shared its opening track “Talk Talk Talk” (which was an honorable mention on our Songs of the Week list, only because another song of his made the main list). When Health was released, album track “Holiday Home” was also one of our Songs of the Week.

Health is Duncan’s third album. It was produced by Elbow’s Craig Potter. Health follows 2015’s Mercury Prize-nominated debut, Architect, and 2016’s Twilight Zone-inspired sophomore album, The Midnight Sun. His first two albums were bedroom-recorded affairs, this is the first album recorded with other producers, engineers, and musicians.

“This was the biggest shift in dynamic for me,” Duncan said in a previous press release, “having always worked alone, it was a daunting prospect but one I knew I had to explore.”

Duncan also had this to say about the album in the previous press release: “With album three, I wanted to take a more direct approach, adding even more layers but thematically and lyrically laid bare. Having someone else to bounce production ideas off was really eye-opening for me. In the past, I had been very controlling about how everything would sound but Health really showed me the benefit of working with others and made the whole process much less isolating.”

Read C Duncan’s article for us on his favorite Twilight Zone episodes.

Read our interview with C Duncan on Architect.

www.c-duncan.co.uk

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