Gomez's Ben Ottewell Announces Solo Debut

The nine tracks on "Shapes & Shadows" were co-produced by Ottewell and Will Golden and mixed by Tom Biller (Liars, Warpaint, Karen O) at The Chalet in Los Angeles. See below for a tracklist.

"Shapes & Shadows" will be available on CD and in MP3 or FLAC digital formats, and is available individually or bundled with an exclusive t-shirt and a five-track digital EP containing acoustic versions of four of the songs from the album plus a special cover song.

This EP will be available to download on the album's release date. All pre-orders of "Shapes & Shadows" will also receive the track "Lightbulbs" as a free MP3 download at the time of purchase.

While Gomez is a three-singer band, Ottewell's powerful tenor has graced many fan favorites, from early songs like "Get Miles" and "Revolutionary Kind" to the more recent singles "How We Operate" and "See The World." In one early profile, Rolling Stone declared, "Gomez's not-so-secret weapon is Ben Ottewell. His deep, raspy voice is spine chilling... more like an otherworldly bluesman than a baby-faced Brit." And GQ once wrote, "Ottewell's voice is not of this world. It is a deep, reverent baritone, the kind of voice that shakes windows."

Ottewell collaborated with childhood friend Sam Genders, previously of Tunng, on the ideas that became "Shapes & Shadows." As Ben explains, "Sam and I grew up together in a little village called Bonsall in Derbyshire and have been friends since childhood. I love his songwriting -- the stuff he did with Tunng and The Accidental, particularly lyrically. We've been wanting to do this sort of thing for a while now. Having grown up together, there is a strong theme of looking back or recollecting."

A U.S. solo tour in 2011 is currently being planned; details will be announced in the new year.

Ben Ottewell -- "Shapes & Shadows" tracklist: