Giving us healing, English singer-songwriter James Arthur’s return with his brand new single “Medicine” after the huge global success of his song “Train Wreck”.
“Medicine” is boldly autobiographical. The track was the very first song James wrote during his first writing session for the new album.
“Medicine is an uplifting ode to self, to relationships, to community and connection, and to the healing, restorative powers of love over adversity. It is, you might say, the perfect song for spring 2021,” James said.
‘When I’m suicidal, you don’t let me spiral…’ a line in the song were James said was one of the pretty dark lyrics there. According to him, it was that last year, couples were forced to look at themselves, it held mirror up to all — and that James’ partner was his huge support through that whole time.
The journey to his new record began in January 2020 whilst James was on a European tour, and old demons began to resurface. “On stage in Madrid, I had this brutal panic attack. I’ve obviously suffered from anxiety over the years but I’d never had that before, not on stage, not it taking hold of me – to the extent that I had to get off because if I didn’t, I was gonna die. Then the next day I developed really bad flu symptoms and had to be rushed into hospital. They found that I had a gallbladder infection, and had to remove it immediately.”
Arthur cancelled the tour as he spent a week in hospital in Switzerland. Afterwards, he checked into Nightingale Hospital in central London, and subsequently used his new home as his place of rehab.
He undertook therapy 3-4 times week, embarked on a course of medication, began practicing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), gave his gym a good work out and, to relieve the pressure, cancelled the American tour.
By March, James was fighting fit enough for his UK arena tour. “And it was probably the best tour I’ve ever done.” But then Coronavirus and lockdown hit. By late spring, with restrictions easing, Arthur was back working. His foresight in building a studio and investing in industry-standard recording gear paid immediate dividends. “And all of a sudden, the music started sounding great. From day one there was a sound that I wanted to go for. Even early on it sounded like a real album, a proper body of work.”
On the other hand, James recently signed a new deal with Columbia Records UK, a co-deal with Columbia Records Germany, who have worked with James for the last five years since his No.1 album ‘Back From The Edge’.
James recently dominated the airwaves and charts with his storming collaboration with Sigala ‘Lasting Lover’. The track was a No.1 airplay song in the UK, No.1 on iTunes and Top 10 on the Official Singles Chart.
Moreover, he recently hit the Official UK Chart with ‘Train Wreck’, a track written and recorded for his 2nd album ‘Back From The Edge’, that found a new lease of life via TikTok. The track has an incredible 365 million streams.
