What does it mean to belong somewhere that wasn’t originally home? For Longboat, the answer lies in the details: the history embedded in British streets, the peculiarities of everyday life, and the small cultural observations that gradually turn a foreign place into something familiar. On Proud of My Postcode, the Seattle-born musical project turns its attention towards Britain and London, offering an electronic portrait of a country seen through the eyes of an American musician who has developed a genuine affection for the UK.
Due for release at the end of September 2026, the album marks Longboat’s 37th release and continues an unusually prolific musical journey. Recorded at Strongroom Studios in Shoreditch, with Will Davies engineering, the entirely electronic project moves between British history, contemporary life and the ordinary experiences that give a place its character. Rather than attempting to present a definitive picture of the country, Longboat offers something more personal: a collection shaped by curiosity, observation and the experience of gradually finding a place in a different culture.
That outsider’s perspective is central to the album’s identity. Longboat’s founder draws a contrast between Seattle, surrounded by mountains, forests and wildlife, and Britain, where centuries of history remain woven into towns, cities and landscapes. For a songwriter, that difference provides an endless supply of material. Yet the appeal isn’t limited to grand historical events or famous landmarks. Longboat is equally interested in the mundane rituals, habits and everyday encounters that make British life distinctive.
There is something refreshing about approaching songwriting through observation rather than conventional romantic narratives. Freed from the expectation of writing traditional love songs, Longboat can turn its attention towards people, places, cultural differences and the contradictions of modern life. The album’s title captures that sense of attachment particularly well. A postcode might be a simple geographical identifier, but it can also represent familiarity, identity and the gradual development of belonging.
Musically, Proud of My Postcode continues Longboat’s genre-fluid approach while committing fully to electronic production. The project has always allowed the needs of individual songs to determine their musical direction, expanding beyond its usual studio setup when a composition calls for live rock or jazz musicians, strings, horns or backing singers. Here, the electronic format provides the framework for a collection driven by the songwriter’s observations of his adopted home.
Formed in Seattle in 2011, Longboat is led by a jazz tenor saxophonist and prolific songwriter whose catalogue now encompasses more than 500 songs. Although often operating as a solo studio project, Longboat’s broader identity reflects an ongoing interest in experimentation, storytelling and the world beyond the recording room. The artist also spends time between Seattle and Britain, with plans to make the UK a permanent home, while performing piano-only versions of songs from the extensive catalogue around London’s Clerkenwell.
With Proud of My Postcode, Longboat turns the experience of cultural discovery into the foundation for a new electronic album. It is not an attempt to define Britain for everyone, but to share one musician’s evolving relationship with a country that has captured his imagination. Sometimes belonging begins with the biggest moments in history; just as often, it emerges from noticing the little things that everyone else takes for granted.
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