Ed O’Brien

Releases Blue Morpho: The Three Act Play – watch HERE

Accompanying short film to new album, Blue Morpho, out now via Transgressive – listen HERE

European and UK Tour in October including sold out show at London’s Barbican 16th October

“Blue Morpho unfolds in layers, at times massive or understated. It’s a record of atmosphere and deep feeling, and is the kind of music that can be kept on endless repeat.” – SPIN

“[a] deeply meditative record, intermittent electric-blue flashes of revelation glinting through the darkness” – MOJO: 4*

Ed O’Brien has just released Blue Morpho, his “hauntingly beautiful” (Vulture) second solo album and first under his own name via Transgressive. Uncut called it “a triumph, personally and creatively” , while Rolling Stone hailed the album’s “strikingly personal tone and daring creative risks make it feel like a debut.”

Today, O’Brien releases the album’s accompanying short film, Blue Morpho: The Three Act Play, via YouTube. The film premiered at SXSW in March before screenings in London, Oxford, Paris, Sydney, Mexico City, Tokyo and Denver. Directed in Wales by Kit Monteith, the film offers an honest and intimate portrait of O’Brien.

Watch Blue Morpho: The Three Act Play below:

O’Brien often returns to a quote by Kentucky poet and farmer Wendell Berry: “To know the dark, go dark.” That philosophy became both compass and catalyst for Blue Morpho – a deeply personal record produced by Paul Epworth and Riley MacIntyre (Ezra Collective), born from one of the most challenging periods of his life. While O’Brien remains one of rock music’s most celebrated guitarists, Blue Morpho finds him stepping into new creative territory, embracing hypnotic psych-folk, radiant guitars, beguiling trip-hop and moments of luminous stillness.

Written during years of personal reflection and experimentation, the album emerged from long improvisational sessions, where he immersed himself in sound as a way to process emotional upheaval and renewal. The result is a record that navigates transformation, healing and spiritual connection, shaped by both introspection and collaboration.

A series of serendipitous encounters helped bring Blue Morpho to life. Paul Epworth became a central creative partner, while saxophonist and composer Shabaka Hutchings contributed flutes following conversations around resonance and frequency at Glastonbury. Dave Okumu weaves radiant, intricate guitar work throughout the record, ESKA lends additional vocals, and acclaimed Estonian composer Tõnu Kõrvits arranged the album’s string parts, performed by the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, deepening the record’s rich and expansive emotional landscape.

The record was completed between O’Brien’s studio in Wales and The Church Studios in London, with sequencing assistance from Flood and mixing by Ben Baptie.

Purchase/stream Blue Morpho

Watch the visualiser for “Incantations”

Watch the video for “Blue Morpho”

An Evening With…Blue Morpho is a seven-date UK and European tour taking place in October 2026, culminating in a special performance at London’s iconic Barbican on October 16th, which sold out in under 24 hours. The Blue Morpho live experience will bring together a collective of musicians who performed on the album’s recording sessions, including musical director Okumu. Rather than simply recreating the studio record, the live show is conceived as a fluid and immersive celebration of the music in which each performance will evolve and take on a life of its own. Led by O’Brien, the band will draw inspiration from the expansive, exploratory spirit of artists such as Sly and the Family Stone, Miles Davis and Phish. A full list of live dates is below.
Tickets are on sale now here.

Ed O’ Brien Tour Dates:

Sun. Oct. 4 – Amsterdam, NL @ Royal Theatre Carre
Tue. Oct. 6 – Milan, IT @ Teatro Lirico
Thu. Oct. 8 – Paris, FR @ Salle Pleyel
Sat. Oct. 10 – Berlin, DE @ Admiralspalast
Mon. Oct. 12 – Hamburg, DE @ Laeiszhalle
Wed. Oct. 14 – Groningen, NL @ Oosterpoort Main Hall
Fri. Oct. 16 – London, UK @ Barbican – [SOLD OUT]
Mon. Oct. 19 – Belfast, IE @ Ulster Hall, Belfast International Arts Festival

“Tracks that range from grandiose groove-based excursions to contemplative instrumentals that lean into stillness.” –  Stereogum

“O’Brien boasts a wholly-uninhibited approach to how rock and pop music is arranged, resulting in works that move and grow like the building blocks of life itself”. – Clash: 8/10

“Beautiful and gripping” – Record Collector: 4* – lead review 

“‘Blue Morpho’ is a majestic and harmonious entry point to O’Brien’s forthcoming album.” – Consequence

“Blue Morpho…feels like a fully realized world that O’Brien has finally created for himself.” – Brooklyn Vegan

“Shape-shifting and psychedelic.” – FLOOD