The final release as part of Erased Tapes' Piano Day 2023 celebrations sees Douglas Dare covering Massive Attack’s iconic single Teardrop.

"Thinking about Piano Day, I wanted to choose a song where the piano part itself was instantly recognisable and integral to the arrangement, ‘Teardrop’ is one of those songs. It’s been a favourite for as long as I can remember. For a kid that mainly grew up around classical music, it was a formative song that showed me that the piano could be dark and alternative. I recorded my version at home, and [in lieu of felt] I used a giant wool scarf to dampen the strings. I love hearing all the cricks and cracks of the piano; I guess I wanted to make it even more dark and alternative!

For the cover art, I was drawn to a photograph I took last autumn on the Greek island, Hydra. The image looks out onto the sea and a rock formation, which to me looked like a figure, quite serenely, lying face down in the water. It fits Elizabeth’s line ‘Water is my eye, most faithful mirror’ perfectly.” — Douglas Dare, London, March 2023

Douglas will perform a sold-out show at London's Servant Jazz Quarters tonight, where he'll be joined by Ell Kendall and Frances Shelley to celebrate Piano Day. The show will be livestreamed via his Instagram account here.

· stream Teardrop