Warren Ellis to release debut book ‘Nina Simone’s Gum’ in September

Warren Ellis

Frequent Nick Cave collaborator and Bad Seeds multi-instrumentalist Warren Ellis will make his authorial debut in September, with a book titled Nina Simone’s Gum.

READ MORE: Nick Cave & Warren Ellis – ‘Carnage’ review: the peak of their powers

Set to be released in the UK on September 2 via Faber & Faber, the non-fiction work is about a piece of Simone‘s chewed gum that Ellis acquired in 1999, when the jazz singer performed at London’s Meltdown Festival – which Cave curated that year.

As the story goes, an awestruck Ellis snuck onto the stage after seeing Simone perform, taking a piece of gum from her piano. The composer held onto it for two decades, eventually casting the gum in a silver and gold display as part of Cave’s Stranger Than Kindness exhibition.

We're so excited to be unveiling the cover for Nina Simone’s Gum by @warrenellis13 Publishing 2 September, you can pre-order it now: https://t.co/a7XnXNbRRB pic.twitter.com/rrLChvjHOd

— Faber Books (@FaberBooks) May 20, 2021

According to a press release, Nina Simone’s Gum is about “the meaning we place on things, on experiences, and how they become imbued with spirituality” and “a celebration of artistic process, friendship, understanding and love.” The book will also feature an introduction by Cave.

Last month, Cave and Ellis released a collaborative 7″ single titled ‘Grief’, based on a letter sent to Cave’s Red Hand Files website. The release contained two songs, ‘Letter To Cynthia’ and ‘Song For Cynthia’. The former was written by Cave with music by Ellis, and the latter was composed and recorded as a duo.

20,000 Days on Earth Clip - Into The Archive

20,000 Days On Earth is a bold vision of one of music's most mysterious and charismatic figures, the iconic Nick Cave. In their debut feature directors Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard fuse drama and documentary by weaving a cinematically staged day in Cave's life with never-before-seen verite observation of his full creative cycle. The film delves into Cave's artistic processes, unpicking the stuff that makes him tick. We meet those who have affected his life, personally and professionally, including hilarious moments shared with his regular collaborator, the multi-instrumentalist and epic beard-wearer Warren Ellis; actor and friend Ray Winstone; and Kylie Minogue, whom Cave duetted with on his mainstream hit single Where The Wild Roses Grow. These voices from the past revisit Cave in daydream-like scenes as he sits behind the wheel driving through his adopted hometown of Brighton, England. The film constructs a narrative and cinematic reality that seamlessly blends performance and storytelling with emotional truths. Avowedly neither a music documentary nor a concert film, 20,000 DAYS ON EARTH still contains electrifying performances. We see a song grow from the tiniest of ideas sketched out by Cave in his office to a monstrous epic performed by the peerless Bad Seeds on stage at Sydney Opera House. We also witness Cave open up to psychoanalyst Darian Leader as he discusses how his early years continue to inform his work, and later join him on a journey through his personal archive. This category-defying film possesses the same frankness and wry humour that run through all of Cave's work, and pushes the form into new territory, exploring universal themes and celebrating the transformative power of the creative spirit.

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Cave and Ellis surprised fans with the release of their first studio album as a duo back in February, with ‘Carnage’. In a five-star review, NME called the duo “two master craftsmen at the peak of their melodramatic powers” on the album.

“Cave and Ellis have taken a bold leap into the COVID era’s dark night of the soul, and found a truth that we all share.”

The post Warren Ellis to release debut book ‘Nina Simone’s Gum’ in September appeared first on NME.