Cathal Smyth - A Comfortable Man (2015)

Perhaps better known to many as Chas Smash of the much loved national pop institution Madness, A Comfortable Man is an honest, moving and deeply human record about discovery and ultimately recovery. The gestation of the album goes back to 2005 when Cathal found himself in the Cottonwood rehabilitation facility in Tuscon after the break up of a 28-year relationship.

On the 10th day, during a period of respite, alone in the community hall, he seated himself at the piano. The break from wife and family home was still paramount in his mind. The grief had taken form. Sorrow had turned to song. Are The Children Happy?, the song at the core of A Comfortable Man, flowed forth. 'It was an epiphany, I didn't even know what chords I was playing,' he explains.

A move to Ibiza and the peace & solitude it brought after years of living in London was equally as significant in the creation of the album; The early morning birds fed the optimism of Do You Believe In Love? while the terrifying fire that broke out one night in Ibiza's Benirras inspired the apocalyptic vision of Goodbye Planet Earth.

Cathal debuted selectionsfrom A Comfortable Man at the 2014 Festival No 6 in Port Merion. As the man himself says, 'It was very moving. After every song my heart was in my throat; I felt 'why haven't I done this before? Many of the audience were moved to tears. It gave me the belief to finally pursue a solo career.'

Cathal recorded the album at Sarm, Iguana and The Premises studios in London with producers Charlie Andrew (Alt-J), Paul Powell and Felix Quine. The renowned Alan Winstanley, who has previously worked with Cathal on numerous Madness albums, mixed the album at Artillery Studios in London.

The 12-track album also features string and choral arrangements from the Royal Academy Of Music trained composer Joe Duddell who has previously worked with Elbow, Richard Hawley, The Halle Orchestra and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, amongst others.