A Permanent Shadow, the musical collective led by Barcelona-resident CP Fletcher, are about to release their new single. “Shining Star” is a song written by Fletcher and Astrid Martínez that deals with envy and betrayal among friends and family members. The song implies a search for spiritual relief from those earthly troubles in which the never-ending journey represents the actual act of release.

Musically, the song pays homage to Fletcher’s biggest hero, David Bowie. While the single edit jumps right into the verse, the longer album version starts with an instrumental intro slightly reminiscent of the Starman’s “Space Oddity”.

“Shining Star” was produced by Valen Nieto who also plays guitar, bass and synthesizer, while Albert Català (keyboards, piano, synthesizer) was involved in arrangements and preproduction. Says Fletcher: “It is a joy to work with these two guys, though we barely find ourselves in the same room at the same time. With Albert we get a lot done from his home studio, while Valen takes over when it comes to recording and mixing the songs in a proper studio. We established this process for our debut album and worked the same way on the new record.”

The ballad as usual comes with a stunning video directed by Motorzombis singer Dani Moreno. The video shows a group of “searchers” crossing the metaphorical desert in search of their own guiding light, only to be bitterly disappointed once they find it within reach.

A Permanent Shadow’s debut album was released in September 2019 to critical acclaim on the band’s own APE Music imprint. A particular highlight for Fletcher was a nod from Simple Minds on their social media accounts in which they praised APS’s cover of their own song “See The Light”. “Covers are fun”, declares Fletcher, “It’s always interesting to take other people’s compositions and make them your own. Expect some more readings of other people’s songs on our future longplays.”

A new album by A Permanent Shadow is scheduled for release in early 2022. “Shining Star” will be made available on digital platforms on September 24th.