Willie J Healey has announced his upcoming EP, 143, scheduled for release on September 4th, 2026, via V2 Records. To mark the announcement, the singer-songwriter has shared the project’s lead single, “Ditch,” alongside details of an intimate UK headline tour this October.
The upcoming EP serves as a creative mixtape for Healey, blending lo-fi 4-track recordings captured at his home studio with full-band studio sessions tracked in New York alongside producer Loren Humphrey, who previously helmed Healey’s acclaimed 2023 album, Bunny. Stripping back the production “bells and whistles,” the project leans heavily into vintage textures and straightforward, direct songwriting that Healey describes as his “most Neil [Young] yet.”
The lead single, “Ditch,” channels that raw tape-machine warmth, marrying a relaxed, groove-laced arrangement with Healey’s signature blend of romanticism and observational wit. The track explores youthful anxiety through the lens of classic, old-fashioned love stories.
Of the track, he states,
‘Ditch’, sent from above. I just sat there with my arms open and it fell down to me. A gift from the tape lords, Loren Humphrey at the wheel, me in the passenger seat with the windows all the way down. It’s a feeler about old fashioned brains, Romeo and Juliet type situations, being young and scared.
The EP’s title itself is a nostalgic nod to the vintage pager code for “I love you”, a fitting moniker for a collection of songs that aim to deliver an emotional message as directly as possible. The announcement follows a busy summer of festival appearances for the artist, including a slot at Truck Festival, ahead of his return to smaller, intimate venues this autumn.
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