Penguin Cafe are back with a lovingly produced 10th anniversary reissue of their debut album, titled A Matter of Life… 2021. Besides being completely remastered and pressed on vinyl for the very first time, the record also features a brand new 2021 recording of lead single Harry Piers, a song commemorating Arthur Jeffes’ late father and PCO founder Simon Jeffes.

“I originally wrote Harry Piers to play at my dad‘s memorial service 24 years ago, and I played it at the end of pretty much every gig (and soundcheck) we’ve done since, so I’ve probably played it hundreds if not thousands of times since we originally released A Matter of Life... So when we decided to reissue the album, Robert and I both felt it would be fun to record an up-to-date version of this song, because it has changed over time and it continues to evolve. So while this is still very much the same tune, I think it has a lot more nuance and detail that reflect the years that have passed since 2011,” Arthur explains.

“When I asked Art to dig out the original recordings in order to give them the sonic treatment they deserved, it just so happened that the session file for the most important piece was missing — his ode to his father. A brief moment of panic was shortly followed by the realisation that this might be a sign, a chance to record the glorious new form this song has naturally developed into over the years. I had this strong memory of seeing Arthur genuinely reach out to Simon through the piano, which had to be captured for others to witness,” adds co-producer Robert Raths.

The remastered 10th anniversary edition of A Matter of Life… will be available digitally, on 12” vinyl and on CD from April 29.

· stream & download the first single Harry Piers
· pre-order A Matter of Life… 2021 on LP · CD · DL