"Haga" is Richards' first new single since his December EP Castel, and will feature on Richards' soundtrack to The Earth Asleep, a new film about the 2011 Japan tsunami.
The new track is composed by Richards, and sees him recruit Chris Illingworth of GoGo Penguinon on piano, and Michael Spearman of Everything Everything for drums and percussion.
Richards says of "Haga", "We interviewed several people in the town who told us about their different spiritual methods of dealing with grief and loss following the disaster, and their stories form the narrative threads of the film. Masahiko Haga explained to us that the spirits return to heaven when the fire goes out."
He adds, "The evening spent with Haga was an extremely powerful and moving experience, and Clara [Casian, director] and I knew instantly that it would be an integral part of the film and score. The xylophone melody heard in the "Haga" is taken from the Otsuchi neighbourhood music - a melody played over the loud speakers used for earthquake and tsunami warning, heard every few hours across the whole town."
The Earth Asleep was due to premiere with Richards performing the live score at HOME in Manchester and the Barbican next month, but has been postponed until further notice because or the coronavirus pandemic.
