Following shortly after the announcement of his album series Nonsuch Park to be released on the 4th of September, Scott Helman has revealed the very first track from the upcoming collection and has done so, in the most poignant of ways.
‘Papa’ is a pure, heartfelt, heart rendering tribute to the artists late grandfather and is utterly overflowing with emotion.
Alongside the single, Scott has also unveiled a visualiser which is a true tear jerker from start to finish. The video is such an intimate and privileged glance into not only Scotts life but the lives and memories of multiple family members, including a timeline of his beloved Papa’s journey through this world. It’s a rarity to find a song that embodies such sadness, yet at the same time emanates a heightened level of understanding, acceptance and happiness. Scott has opened the door and invited his listeners in to bear witness as he comes to terms with his grief and gratitude.
Speaking ahead of the album he explains:
“If my past works have been displays of discovery, this work is a declaration – a declaration of love, meaning, questions and truth, and it is all dedicated to you, Papa. Thank you for helping me piece together the fragments of my life and giving me the space to do it.”
“This album is mostly about me – my changes, my growth, my hardships, my celebrations, my fears, my courage and my love,” says Scott. “It encapsulates many of the winding roads of my life, how they’ve diverged and converged to create a tapestry, and it documents the lessons that tapestry has taught me. If each person has a sanctuary within – a place they can return to where things make sense, where the tides are kind, where colours are bright and their lives feel meaningful – I think we all have a physical destination too where those things manifest. For me that place was the large park just down the road from my Papa’s house in Sutton, UK – Nonsuch Park. It was here where we would walk and cackle at awful jokes, lean in for the stories, make peace with our busy lives and draw meaning from the lessons we had learned since our last visit (made all the more powerful by the fact that we only had a couple more days together).” – Scott Helman.
PURPLE MELON 