Encouraged by the very positive critical acclaim and the audience reaction to the live shows for his 2005 LP One Man's Treasure, Harvey - an internationally renowned arranger, producer, multi instrumentalist, film soundtrack composer and co-founder of The Birthday Party and Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - has created a further wonderful collection of classic songs. For the eagerly awaited Two Of Diamonds, the redoubtable Mick Harvey is this time accompanied by his solo band, featuring Rosie Westbrook (double bass) and fellow Bad Seeds' James Johnston (organ and guitar) and Thomas Wydler (drums). Guest musicians on two tracks also include Rob Ellis from P.J. Harvey's band (piano/drums), who has also toured with Mick, and Julitha Ryan (piano) from Melbourne instrumental band Silver Ray.

"It's a very different thing when you get into playing live in the studio," says singer Mick Harvey of Two Of Diamonds. "The last record (One Man's Treasure) I did all by myself, building it up bit by bit. This time most of the tracks, not all of them, but most of them were recorded live in the studio. The addition of the double bass was really perfect for what I was trying to do. It gives an amount of room... a lot of space for things to get really quiet and leaves a lot of room for the singing, so I'm not fighting against a lot of electrified instruments."

Two Of Diamonds, mostly recorded at Harvey's Grace Lane studio and Atlantis Studios, Melbourne, features an eclectic collection of songs which Harvey has chosen to interoperate in his own distinctive and emotive style. Some are original Harvey compositions (the dream-like 'Blue Arrows' and the graceful 'Little Star'), and, as with 'One Man's Treasure' these are combined with more obscure classics, sometimes stemming from the pens of well known enigmatic songwriters. What once again unites this timeless material is Mick Harvey's deeply personal connection with every song included on Two Of Diamonds. The recorded interpretive work of Nina Simone and Johnny Cash, two of Mick Harvey's favourite artists, still inspire him to grasp the essence of his elected material and make it his own.

On Two Of Diamonds Mick Harvey seeks to bring the songs to their most emotionally powerful level. The arrangements are kept as straightforward as possible, and in a deceptively effortless manner, he and his band succeed in their aim. Two Of Diamonds is another Mick Harvey record passionately delivered straight from the heart.

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