The Bookshop Band to release a music album inspired by books including Margaret Atwood's The Testaments

The Bookshop Band and former bookshop owner Pete Townshend are collaborating on a music album that takes inspiration from books such as Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments (Vintage), Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World (Vintage), and Philip Pullman’s The Book of Dust (Penguin and David Fickling Books).

Released on 28th June, "Emerge, Return" features 13 songs written by Ben Please and Beth Porter. The tracks touch on themes such as "the oppression of bodies, free will and free speech", while the title of the album comes from a song inspired by Robert Macfarlane’s Underland (Hamish Hamilton).

"I got into the whole Bookshop Band technique, which is just two people making this sound like a symphony orchestra," producer Townshend said. "It’s quite extraordinary. Each song was special in its own way.”

On working with Townshend, Please added: “He brought his great musicality and experience to the recording process, doing things we’d never have thought of ourselves, offering a different perspective on the songs. That’s the value of working with a great producer.

“And the fact that he ended up playing on every track added an extra dimension — I think that fans will hear his influence woven right the way through the album.”

The Bookshop Band was formed as a collaboration between a group of musicians and Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights in Bath. Their approach is to respond to the books they read by writing songs that they perform for bookshop audiences across the UK, America and Europe. They have recorded various albums in the past, but this will be their first commercial release.

The launch be accompanied by a podcast series of conversations with the authors, released between 15th and 22nd June, and a 70-date UK tour with a range of bookshop events.