Stepping out of the bedroom & into the Real World, Liverpool’s Strawberry Guy prepares for a string of special shows across the UK & the US by sharing reimagined strings versions of two fan favourites, Mrs Magic & F Song.

Heading down to Peter Gabriel’s idyllic Real World Studios with Manchester’s Northern Session Collective in tow, Stephens set about trying to soften and expose the bare bones of the original tracks. Stripped of drums & synths, the music is pared down to piano & the new strings arrangement, bringing the careful melodies & indrawn lyrics to the fore.

Having recorded the original tracks in his Liverpool bedroom, swapping the originals’ string samples for their real counterparts lends the tracks an even more ethereal quality than the self-produced originals. The trip to Real World marks a first foray into studio recording for Strawberry Guy, and a new high-fidelity direction for the project, as he begins the process of making his sophomore album.

The camcorder video for F Song’s strings version, by Craig McLaughlin, follows Stephens on his way to & around the Real World. The viewer comes along for the journey of the recording & behind the scenes of the creative process.

Fans will have the chance to hear both strings versions in the flesh alongside reworkings of the rest of the Strawberry catalogue in two special shows at Liverpool Philharmonic & London’s Kings Place. He then returns to the US for his second headline tour where he’ll be joined by a string quartet for his New York & Los Angeles shows, amidst a run that takes him to both coasts & up into Canada.

The vinyl edition, dropping 10th November, features the two new strings versions along with the originals of both tracks, meaning fans can finally get their hands on a physical version of early single F Song.