Stats announce second album 'Powys 1999' and share lead single 'Naturalise Me'

Stats have announced their second album ‘Powys 1999’ – listen to its first single ‘Naturalise Me’ below.

The record is due to arrive on November 13 via Memphis Industries, and follows on from the London group’s 2019 debut, ‘Other People’s Lives’.

Lead single ‘Naturalise Me’, released today (September 9), is a shimmering rush of electro-pop goodness, which finds lead singer Ed Seed questioning his roots.

“Growing up I felt like I didn’t fit in or belong where I was born and raised. I’m sure a lot of people feel this way,” he explained.

“When it comes to the countryside we often talk about the natural – and by implication the unnatural – as if we are talking about the real, and by implication the fake. I felt somehow fake in Powys [Wales] as a born incomer, un-local, neither Welsh nor English. But by looking at the landscape I started to realise the construction and extraction behind it, and the myth of its naturalness.”

‘Powys 1999’ was recorded in a residential studio close to where Seed grew up in Powys. Despite there being a “dense narrative to the record that explores personal upbringing”, Seed clarified that “it’s not nostalgic”.

“It’s about the past but also the future,” he said. “Living another way doesn’t seem so possible now for technological and financial reasons – and I was seeking inspiration from the people I knew who tried to do that.”

He added: “It’s got to be fun. It’s got to bang”. Check out the official artwork above.







The Witch And The Hundred Knight - Trailer
The Witch and the Hundred Knight is an action RPG played from a top-down isometric view that is reminiscent of games like Diablo II. The player character, the Hundred Knight, can equip up to 5 weapons and cycle through them to create combos. The player can also equip different "facets" that not only change their appearance but alter their stats and weapon proficiencies. As the game progresses, the player will gain access to special abilities and powers that can help them in battle and increase the bonus gauge, which leads to better rewards after clearing a stage. The game world is linear, with new stages being unlocked one after another. However, the player can go back and revisit previous stages to find new areas and items. The character's main base of operations is Metallia's house in Niblhenne Swamp, where they can save their game and access a basic merchant. If the player activates a Pillar in the field, they can warp directly to back to base and start at that Pillar when they re-enter the level. If the player is KO'ed while exploring, they will return to Metallia's house and forfeit any items they acquired during their adventure. The player may raid NPC villages to gain items, although this increases the player's "karma", possibly causing NPCs to attack the player on sight if it is too high. By picking up Anima from defeated enemies, the player can use Metallia's Bucket List to do such things as lower Karma and unlock new abilities. While exploring the world, fighting enemies, and using special abilities, the player consumes Giga Calories, or Gcals for short. When the player runs out of Gcals, their HP begins to quickly and continuously deplete until they are KO'ed. The player can restore Gcals by consuming food items or devouring weakened enemies in a short quick time event. This creates "garbage" in the Hundred Knight's stomach that takes up space and must be expelled through the use of special items.
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In a four-star review, NME described ‘Other People’s Lives’ as “both calm and collected, but wildly unhinged at its core, which bubbles away with insecurities and mysteries.”