Ride guitarist and former Oasis bassist Andy Bell has reunited with Essex-based harp and synth duo Masal for a new collaborative album titled Common Primitives. The record is scheduled to arrive on October 9.
Alongside the announcement, Andy Bell & Masal have released the album’s first single, “The Morning Of The Trip,” on digital platforms. The track begins with guitar and harp playing alongside one another before gradually building toward a layered psychedelic climax.
“I tried to play as if my guitar was a waterfall,” Bell said about his performance on the song.
Masal consists of Özlem Şimşek and Alastair Johnson, who first connected with Bell after supporting him during a show in Chelmsford in early 2022. The musicians later released their first collaborative album, Tidal Love Numbers, in 2023.
While Tidal Love Numbers featured four lengthy and mostly ambient tracks, Common Primitives includes seven shorter songs with more layered arrangements. Johnson explained that the trio developed the new album from improvised jam sessions before returning to the recordings to add, edit and remove different sections.
“This album became a more iterative process where we went back over the ideas – adding, editing and cutting the original material,” Johnson said. “Above all, we believe you should go where the vibe takes you.”
Bell cited jazz musician Pharoah Sanders’ 1977 album Pharoah as an important influence on the record. He also used more guitar loops while creating the project, partly inspired by Tisziji Muñoz’s guitar performance on Sanders’ song “Harvest Time.”
The album also connects with Şimşek’s childhood in Istanbul through the opening song, “After Kâtibim.” After hearing Bell’s guitar riffs, she remembered the melody of “Kâtibim,” a traditional Turkish folk song she had sung as a child, and added vocals to the track.
Other songs on the album include “I Swear We Are Infinite,” “Yuzuki Fighting Spirit,” “Soap And Water,” “Tower Of Babylon” and “Rudi’s Dream – The Third Bardo.” “Tower Of Babylon” takes its title from a novelette by author Ted Chiang, while the final track builds toward a krautrock-inspired ending influenced by the trio’s studio cat.
Common Primitives was produced by Johnson and mastered by Bell’s Ride bandmate Mark Gardener at OX4 Sound studio. The album will be available on CD, digitally and through several double-vinyl editions. The vinyl release will also include Tidal Love Numbers for the first time on vinyl.
Ahead of the album’s release, Andy Bell & Masal will perform two intimate shows at SJQ in Dalston, London.
Common Primitives follows Bell’s third solo album, Pinball Wanderer, which arrived in February 2025 and included his reworked cover of The Passions’ “I’m in Love With a German Film Star.”
The full tracklisting is:
CD and digital
- After Kâtibim
- I Swear We Are Infinite
- Yuzuki Fighting Spirit
- Soap And Water
- Tower Of Babylon
- The Morning Of The Trip
- Rudi’s Dream – The Third Bardo
Vinyl
Record 1 – Tidal Love Numbers
A1. Murmuration Of Warm Dappled Light On Her Back After Swimming
A2. The Slight Unease Of Seeing A Crescent Moon In Blue Midday Sky
B1. Tidal Love Conversation In That Familiar Golden Orchard
B2. A Pyramid Hid By Centuries Of Neon Green Undergrowth
Record 2 – Common Primitives
A1. After Kâtibim
A2. I Swear We Are Infinite
A3. Yuzuki Fighting Spirit
B1. Soap And Water
B2. Tower Of Babylon
B3. The Morning Of The Trip
B4. Rudi’s Dream – The Third Bardo
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