MF Tomlinson today releases ‘I’m On The Border’, a new single that offers a profound glimpse into his upcoming album, ‘Die To Wake Up From A Dream’, out July 11th on PRAH Recordings.
‘I’m On The Border’ transmutes Tomlinson’s personal anxiety over potential UK deportation into a poetic and transcendent piece. Its cinematic arrangement features piano, strings, synth bass, and unconventional elements like Chesil Beach waves and battlefield-processed drums. This blend of beauty and chaos evokes both fragility and defiance. What begins as a meditation on various borders evolves into a powerful reflection on human connection and resilience, resonating with the quiet conviction of lines like, “How could they tear us apart? / The answer is they can’t.” The song, drawing inspiration from artists like Yo La Tengo and Nick Cave, is both intimate and immensely powerful.
Of the song, Tomlinson states,
I began writing this song in 2014 during one of the worst periods of my life, when I was fighting to earn the rights to continue to live in the UK. Lyrically, the song is purely about my personal experience, but as the recording progressed, I began to channel the incredible sadness I was feeling about the conflict that surrounds us into the arrangement.
The experiences I’m describing in this song shone a light on how hidden, often invisible, the injustice of how our borders are controlled really was to so many around me. My case is the best case example – the tip of the iceberg. I’m one of the lucky people who have been successful in gaining citizenship, for many it is impossible. I would love it if this could be a window into just how emotionally devastating these systems can be, to keep those who are in real peril closer in mind, to resist those who want to make our world smaller, and to remember just how lucky we are.
‘Die To Wake Up From A Dream’ marks MF Tomlinson’s third studio album and the conclusion of his self-produced full-length trilogy. Following 2021’s acclaimed ‘Strange Time’ and 2023’s ‘We Are Still Wild Horses’.
