Former Wild Beasts frontman Hayden Thorpe has today released his debut single, ‘Diviner’.
Thorpe revelled that the new track was written soon after the shock news that Wild Beasts had decided to split up in 2017, after ten years together.
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Speaking about the new track, Thorpe said: “Diviner became the first song and the divining rod for what was going to be next. There are, if we can wait for them, rare days of alignment.
“Diviner was written on such a day, my birthday of all days. The curtains were drawn for a while, I went inside. To say I’m delighted to see daylight would be an understatement.”
You can listen to the new song and watch the video, directed by Crowns & Owls, below.
Thorpe also revealed that he left the Lake District, shortly after the decision had been made for the band to split, and headed to California, where ‘Diviner’ was written. You can see the artwork for ‘Diviner’ below.
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The news that the band were splitting up came as a shock to fans. In a statement, the band said: “Wild Beasts are coming to an end,” they said in a statement.
“Our hearts and minds have been devoted to the band since we were teenagers. We’ve created something quite of our own and built a body of work which we stand by as heartfelt and true. The four of us have decided, for our own reasons and in our own ways, that it is now time to leave this orbit.”
They continued: “We’re care takers to something precious and don’t want to have it diminish as we move forward in out lives. Thank you for your love and energy and for helping us make it what it is. We consider ourselves remarkably fortunate to have lived out this dream.”
Forming in 2002, the band released five acclaimed albums together – with the last being 2016’s ‘Boy King.’
After news of the split was announced, the band performed a series of farewell shows, their last being at London’s Hammersmith Apollo last February.