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Newton Faulkner teams with Lissie & Los Bitchos on new single ‘Hunting Season’
After making a bold return with ‘Alright Alright Alright’, Newton Faulkner continues to break new ground with ‘Hunting Season (feat. Lissie & Los Bitchos)’, the second single from his forthcoming album ‘OCTOPUS’, out 19th September 2025 on Cooking Vinyl.
The track began life as a co-write with Dutch producer and songwriter Tessa Rose Jackson. “I finished a vaguely Paul Simon–y version of it, which I liked—but didn’t love,” Faulkner explains. “I loved the song, just not that version of it.”
Looking to reshape the track, Faulkner reached out to an old friend: Los Bitchos drummer Nic Crawshaw, who he’d played with in one of his first bands. That reconnection led to a session in East London with Los Bitchos guitarist Serra Petale. “Serra came to my studio mid-morning, and by mid-afternoon, this version was up and running,” he says. “As soon as she started playing, I knew I wanted her to replace all of my guitars. She straight-up smashed it.”
The song also features guest vocals from Lissie, a longtime collaborator and friend. “We’ve done loads of gigs and radio stuff together, and I’ve always been a huge fan of her voice,” Faulkner says. “I just had to hope she’d say yes. Which she did — and then proceeded to smash it out of the park.”
Faulkner’s current phase of reinvention was made public in November 2024, when he cut off his iconic ginger dreadlocks on stage at London’s Islington Assembly Hall during the final night of his UK tour. The moment — which took place during a stripped-back performance of ‘Dream Catch Me’— raised money for Teenage Cancer Trust while marking a symbolic break from his past.
Now, at 40, Faulkner is stepping fully into a new chapter: one defined by openness, collaboration, and a willingness to rewrite the rules. Built from scratch in his East London home studio, ‘Hunting Season (feat. Lissie & Los Bitchos)’ is a vibrant preview of what’s to come.
‘OCTOPUS’ follows the longest gap between albums in Faulkner’s career. The extended break gave him space to strip back his approach and work with new sounds and collaborators. The result is his most adventurous record yet—one that abandons familiar formulas in favor of genuine creative risk-taking.
‘Hunting Season (feat Lissie & Los Bitchos)’ will be available across all streaming platforms from 6th June, with the full album ‘OCTOPUS’ to follow 19th September 2025 via Cooking Vinyl Records.
As part of the new album campaign a series of collector’s edition CDs and vinyl have been made available to pre-order across Amazon, HMV, indie retail and Newton’s store. Each edition features exclusive, one-of-a-kind artwork created especially for this project – making them a must-have for fans and collectors alike.