Acclaimed singer-songwriter Katie Melua has announced details of her forthcoming ninth studio album, Love & Money; a stunning and personal 10 track glimpse into Katie’s journey over the past two years. Amassing 56 platinum certifications over a glittering 20-year career, Katie has become one of Britain’s highest-selling recording artists after bursting into the national consciousness with her chart topping debut Call Off The Search and releasing 8 consecutive top 10 UK albums, most recently, including 2020’s Album No.8.

Love & Money will be released on March 24th via BMG and is available to pre-order/save HERE. The news follows the recent announcement of Katie’s upcoming UK & EU tour in April & May, which includes a landmark show at The Royal Albert Hall in London on May 16th.

Produced by Leo Abrahams (Ghostpoet, Brian Eno, Regina Spektor), Love & Money was recorded at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in the summer of 2022 while Katie was pregnant with her newborn son. An exquisite collection of songs sculpted by the gratitude of their creator and the positivity found in a new relationship, it also deals with self-acceptance in the face of change and her attempts to let go of “that background belief that happiness carries less weight than its opposite.”

This is perhaps brought home most profoundly in first single and album opener “Golden Record,” premiered by Ken Bruce on BBC Radio 2 today, which sees Katie reflecting on her place in the world; the bonuses and challenges of being a woman in the music industry and the delicate balance of career and family, all brought to life in a crescendo of personal acceptance and catharsis. The accompanying music video was filmed at Real World Studios.

Speaking on the single, Katie says: “It’s about the scene changing and being a woman in the music industry and how strange and lucky I feel to have a job I’m addicted to. This approach for nearly 20 years led me to being very dogmatic and leaving very little space for my life at home. Before I knew it, the years had flown and I was 36, newly divorced, still pedaling like mad with music, while around me, friends were all married, making babies. And while the draw of making records and getting up on stage still did everything I thought I needed for my soul, I knew not having a stable relationship at home and starting a family was gradually gnawing away at me. Writing ‘Golden Record’, it was like I was finally making peace with it all, accepting how things have changed in the industry, being happy with my lot at home and ready to face the fear of letting go of the forever funfair of the music industry.”

Originally from Tbilisi, Georgia, Katie Melua has traveled far in every sense. Immortalized by modern standards such as “The Closest Thing To Crazy” and “Nine Million Bicycles,” her most recent album, 2020’s Album No.8, was her most critically-acclaimed to date, seeing her come of age of as a lyricist, gently pushing back against the romantic idealism that forms the language of love in pop songs, and searching instead for something that felt closer to her own experience. From whichever point you last picked up the story, there’s perhaps no better time to behold the evolution of Katie Melua as a singer-songwriter than in the songs that make up Love & Money. The album will be available digitally, on vinyl and standard & deluxe CD formats. The deluxe CD includes 4 bonus tracks including a stunning duet with German recording artist Philipp Poisel.

Photo Courtesy: Mariam Sitchinava