Category: News

Asia: The Reunion Albums: 2007 – 2012 – Box Set Out Now!

ASIA, the multi-platinum selling English supergroup, formed in London in 1981, celebrate their 40th anniversary with a 5CD boxset The Reunion Albums: 2007 – 2012 through BMG.

Watch the unboxing here:

Buy it here: https://asiaband.lnk.to/reunionalbumsPR

This 5CD deluxe clamshell box set features the 2CD live recording Fantasia, Live In Tokyo together with the three reunion studio albums Phoenix, Omegaand XXX.

ASIA took the world by a storm with their eponymous debut album, globally the biggest-selling album of 1982. The single Heat Of The Moment, a huge soft-rock anthem, reached the top 40 in over a dozen markets, peaking in the U.S. at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.

The four original members of ASIA – John Wetton (King Crimson, lead vocal/bass), Steve Howe (YES, guitars), Carl Palmer (Emerson, Lake & Palmer, drums) and Geoff Downes (The Buggles, YES, keyboards), reunited to celebrate their 25th anniversary in 2006 and 2007 with a world tour.

A live album from the tour Fantasia, Live In Tokyo was released in 2007 as they returned to the studio together for the first time in a quarter of a century. The reunion would yield three stunning albums Phoenix (2008), Omega (2010) together with XXX (2012) as they celebrated their 30th anniversary.

Of these later albums Carl Palmer said, “The chemistry and energy that comes out when the four of us are working together, is reflected in the new material.” For his part, John Wetton marvelled at how far the band had come. “Each one of us is comfortable as a human being, and the sound reflects the collective maturity of these four people who are not only eager to explore but also relaxed enough to luxuriate in the strength of the material.”

This boxset features the original ASIA line-up, reformed in 2006, and brings together, for the first time, all of ASIA’s essential music into one concise collection.

Fantasia, Live In Tokyo, the 2CD live show from their 2007 World Tour, features many of the tracks from their first two albums Asia (1982) and Alpha (1983) and includes Heat Of The Moment and Don’t Cry together with heritage tracks from each of the band member’s musical history. The band also performed live, for the first time, an acoustic version of Ride Easy, a B-side from the debut single Heat Of The Moment.

The boxset collection is completed by the three reunion studio albums Phoenix, Omega and XXX. These represent some of ASIA’s finest moments and allowed the band to explore fully their rock and progressive roots.
These albums are presented together in a superb collector’s edition boxset designed by Roger Dean, who produced all of the original albums’ artwork. The boxset cover image was previously unused and the Fantasia sleeve design has been updated by Roger. 

ASIA, The Reunion Albums: 2007 – 2012 5CD boxset is out now through BMG Records.

About ASIA
ASIA was a true ‘supergroup’ pooling the talents of John Wetton, Carl Palmer, Geoff Downes and Steve Howe and was the logical successor to their collective bands of the 70s.

Moving beyond their progressive roots, ASIA embraced the commercial FM rock sound that dominated US airwaves and took that, and the new MTV video channel, by storm. The single Heat Of The Moment was a world-wide monster smash and their eponymous 1982 debut album spent an incredible 9 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard chart as ASIA became the biggest selling album of the year and world tour dates sold out.

A second platinum selling album, Alpha, was released in 1983. The four original members reconvened in 2006 for a world tour, to celebrate the 25thanniversary of that incredible success, and the album Phoenix followed.

While the members were still heavily involved in other projects, they came together again to record Omega in 2010 and XXX in 2012. Both albums were acclaimed by their faithful fans and supported by more world tours.

Steve Howe stepped back from ASIA to concentrate on his work with YES and he was replaced by Sam Coulson for 2014’s Gravitas. Following this tour came the news of John Wetton’s treatment for cancer, a fight he sadly lost in 2017, just before Asia started an arena tour with JOURNEY, a tour which became a tribute to John’s life and legacy. John had requested that Billy Sherwood YES replace him on bass and vocals.

ASIA supported YES’s 2019 US Royal Affair Tour with Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal (Guns N’ Roses) on guitar and vocal duties. Steve Howe also returned as special guest.
In 2021 ASIA signed a deal with BMG to re-release their reunion albums Phoenix, Omega, Fantasia: Live In Tokyo and XXX, along with Gravitas (with Sam Coulson), to celebrate the band’s 40th anniversary in 2022. They also plan to release a box-set ASIA In Asia, of the first simulcast from 1983, with Greg Lake temporarily replacing John Wetton.

Steve Howe Announces Release of Homebrew 7 on 30th July

YES guitarist Steve Howe has announced he is to release the seventh edition of his Homebrew album series on 30th July via HoweSound. Homebrew 7marks the 25th anniversary ofthe guitar legend’s first album in his Homebrew collection.  Pre-order the album here: https://cargorecordsdirect.co.uk/products/steve-howe-homebrew-7

The Homebrew series typically features recordings from Steve Howe’s home archive of demos and tracks, originally recorded for one of his many solo or group projects with YES, ASIA, ABWH or GTR. Homebrew 7 differs slightly as none of the tracks have previously been released in any form and there are no plans for any to be rerecorded in the future.

“Many are things I’ve enjoyed saving until the right moment,” says Howe, “and the Homebrew series allows this. Some tracks have matured with my nurturing but others have been recently rediscovered.”

This collection includes tracks from the late seventies through to 2016 in Howe’s extensive range of playing styles. Each of the 21 tracks is dated and accompanied by Howe’s background notes and details on instrumentation. Most of the tracks are Howe’s solo recordings with occasional contributions from Dylan Howe and Virgil Howe on drums with Phil Spalding on bass guitar (Half Way). The booklet includes the lyrics for the four vocal tracks and is also illustrated by some of Howe’s delightfully atmospheric photography.

Homebrew 7 Track Listing:

1. The Glider (2015) Time: 1.37

2. October (1998) 1.56

3. Half Way (1997, 2009 & 2015) 3.49

4. The Only One (2013) 1.26

5. In One Life (1982) 2.41

6. Outstanding Deal (1982) 3.21

7. Be Natural (2013) 1.47

8. Cold Winds (1983) 2.38

9. Deanscape (1982) 2.21

10. Tender Hooks (2015) 2.06

11. A Lady She Is (1982) 4.12

12. Two Sided (2013) 1.45

13. Strange Wayfarer (2016) 3.00

14. Devon Girl (1983) 2.42

15. Safe Haven (2015) 1.31

16. A Matter Of Fact 1986)

17. Touchstone (2015)1.58

18. From Another Day (1979) 1.47

19. Foregone Conclusion (2015) 1.58

20. Space Void (1978) 1.05

21. From The Get-Go (2015) 1.49

Total Running Time: 49.41

All titles written, arranged, engineered and produced by Steve Howe with additional drums by Dylan Howe and Virgil Howe.

HOMEBREW 7 Released on 30TH JULY

Pre-order Homebrew 7 here: https://cargorecordsdirect.co.uk/products/steve-howe-homebrew-7

Homebrew 7 by Steve Howe: Amazon.co.uk: Music

Neal Morse Band – announce fourth studio album ‘Innocence & Danger’ for release this August

Neal Morse Band are pleased to announce the release of their much-anticipated fourth studio album ‘Innocence & Danger’ on the 27th August 2021. 

With NMB’s previous two releases being concept albums, it’s perhaps remarkable that Innocence & Danger is a series of unrelated songs, but drummer Mike Portnoy says “After two sprawling back to back double concept albums in a row, it was refreshing to get back to writing a collection of unrelated individual songs in the vein of our first album.”

Indeed, making this album came easy to the band; while the initial inspiration came particularly from Bill Hubauer (keyboards) and Randy George (bass), the ideas flowed from everybody from there on, as George recalls: “I am excited about the level of collaboration that we achieved on this one. We even went in with a lot of ideas that weren’t necessarily developed, and I think in the end we have something that represents the best of everybody in the band.”

In fact – like its two acclaimed predecessors – Innocence & Danger is a double album by inspiration, rather than design, as Portnoy explains: “As much as we wanted to try and keep it to a single album after having just done two double albums, we wrote so much material that we found ourselves with our third double album in a row! That’s pretty prog!”

There is also plenty in Innocence & Danger to excite those prog fans who have a thirst for epics, as Neal Morse explains: “There’s one half hour epic and another that’s about 20 minutes long. I really didn’t realise that they were that long when we were recording them, which I guess is great because if a movie is really good, you don’t realise that it’s three hours long! But there are also some shorter songs: some have poppier elements, some are heavier and some have three part acoustic sections. I’m excited about all of it, really.”

The album will be released as a Limited 2CD+DVD Digipak (featuring a Making Of documentary), 3LP+2CD Boxset, Standard 2CD Jewelcase & Digital Album, featuring artwork by Thomas Ewerhard (Transatlantic). Pre-orders start on the 18th June, and the full track-listing is below:

CD 1 (Innocence):

1.    Do It All Again 08:55

2.    Bird On A Wire 07:22

3.    Your Place In The Sun 04:12

4.    Another Story To Tell 04:50

5.    The Way It Had To Be 07:14

6.    Emergence 03:12

7.    Not Afraid Pt. 1 04:53

8.    Bridge Over Troubled Water 08:08 

CD 2 (Danger):

1.    Not Afraid Pt. 2 19:32

2.    Beyond The Years 31:22

The Neal Morse Band (now NMB) was formed in 2012, featuring long-time collaborators Neal Morse (vocals, keyboards and guitars), Mike Portnoy (drums, vocals) and Randy George (bass), as well as Bill Hubauer (keyboards, vocals) and Eric Gillette (guitars, vocals). The band’s first album, The Grand Experiment, showed both a freshness and maturity that was further developed in 2016’s The Similitude Of A Dream, 2019’s The Great Adventure and 2021’s Innocence & Danger.

Look for NMB on tour in North America in October 2021 and in Europe throughout May/June 2022. Tour dates coming soon!

Caravan Announce the Release of Who Do You Think We Are? A 37 CD Deluxe, limited edition box set on 20th August.

The Canterbury scene combined elements of jazz, folk, rock and melodic pop into a sound that bridged the gulf between psychedelia and progressive rock, and ultimately shattered all genre barriers. At the heart of the Canterbury scene was a group of musicians whose career has now spanned more than half a century: the legend that is CARAVAN.

Who Do You Think We Are? is the ultimate tribute to the ultimate Canterbury band. It’s released on 20th August on Madfish. This deluxe box set runs to a staggering 37 discs. All the official Caravan albums – studio and live recordings among them – are joined by eleven discs of previously unreleased live performances. A Blu-ray includes remixer extraordinaire Steven Wilson’s 5.1 surround sound mix of the classic In the Land of Grey and Pink album. In addition, a DVD includes vintage European TV performances from 1971 – 1981 (London Marquee, German TV’s Swing In, Bataclan, Paris & French TV show ‘Pop 2’).

The lavish packaging of the set reflects the band’s stature. A hardback coffee table book features rare Caravan photos and memorabilia, and a full discography. A second Fan Club book assembles historic press articles from across the band’s career, alongside a new interview with founder member Pye Hastings. Every copy of the box includes photos signed by the three surviving members of the original Caravan line-up: Pye Hastings, Richard Sinclair and David Sinclair. The celebration continues with a selection of memorabilia: a Caravan-centric map of Canterbury; a specially commissioned Caravan family tree poster, charting their long and circuitous progress; and two replica 1970s gig posters.

Put together with the band’s full co-operation, the full list of contents is as follows:

• 16 NEWLY REMASTERED STUDIO ALBUMS & 4 OFFICIAL LIVE ALBUMS

• 11 DISCS OF PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED CONCERT RECORDINGS

• ON BLU-RAY FOR THE FIRST TIME 48/24 STEREO & 5.1 MIX BY STEVEN WILSON OF IN THE LAND OF GREY & PINK

• DVD INCLUDING RARE FOOTAGE FROM THE MARQUEE 1971, ROCK EN STOCK 1972, BATACLAN 1973 & FRENCH TV PERFORMANCE 1981

• INDIVIDUALLY SIGNED PHOTO BY THE THREE SURVIVING MEMBERS PYE HASTINGS, DAVE SINCLAIR, & RICHARD SINCLAIR

• 144 PAGE HARDBACK COFFEE TABLE BOOK FEATURING RARE PHOTOGRAPHS & MEMORABILIA

• A4 FAN CLUB MINI BOOK FEATURING ARCHIVE ARTICLES & AN UP TO DATE INTERVIEW WITH PYE HASTINGS

• A4 REPLICA TOUR PROGRAMME FOR BLIND DOG AT ST DUNSTANS

• ‘FOR GIRLS THAT GROW PLUMP IN THE NIGHT’ REPLICA PRESS PACK

• CARAVAN’S TRIP DOWN MEMORY LAIN MAP OF CANTERBURY 

• ILLUSTRATED FAMILY TREE• 2 REPLICA POSTERS

This box set will be limited to 2,500 copied worldwide and released on August 20th 2021 on the Madfish label. This deluxe box set is available to pre-order HERE https://CaravanBand.lnk.to/WDYTWA

GIANCARLO ERRA RELEASES NEW SINGLE & VIDEO “A BLUES FOR MY FATHER”

Taken from the forthcoming new album Departure Tapes released on Kscope on 2nd July 2021

Having announced his new album Departure Tapes and released the first single “Departure Tape”,  UK based Italian composer, multi-instrumentalist and visual artist Giancarlo Erra has revealed his next single and video, the moving and poignantly titled “A Blues For My Father”.

Giancarlo explains the song’s touching significance “After my father’s passing, the mourning brought back the curiosity to go re-look at all the material I wrote during the previous months and I realised I had an album that made a lot of sense. It was dark, experimental for me, confusing but also a discovery, it was a mirror in music of what I was going through. Something was missing, ‘ A Blues For My Father”  the only track that I wrote once back home, and the mournful yet peaceful closure”. 

The deeply personal video he recalls came about after a visit to his father in hospital  “on this particular visit he seemed unusually happy and excited to show me a DVD”, he recalls  “The footage was from the 1950’s and of his family and childhood, sadly his memory was failing at this point but once we started watching these moments came back to him, the people and the places, he was laughing and genuinely happy. I love this footage as it shows my father with his siblings and is the perfect mirror for the peaceful and warm meaning of this closure, a closure to an album and to many other things.”

The new studio album Departure Tapes, the follow up to 2019’s Ends I-VII, consists of 6 contemplative recordings, written while travelling between the UK and Italy and reflect the extremely difficult year Giancarlo experienced due to the death of his estranged father. Erra comments “In 2019 my first solo album was just being released, and I already had the view that I wanted to be more experimental with the second one, but no precise idea how at that point. Then my father suddenly got ill with cancer, and everything changed. I found myself taking care of this man, someone who I have been distanced from for so long.  During this time both of us to came to terms with many things. I wanted to get closure, but a positive one, for him and for me. 

Creativity it was an interesting period for me – writing this album without realising I was actually writing it, as it is so intrinsically linked to one of the hardest and yet more healing parts of my life. The end result is the most experimental, and at the times, the darkest material I have ever written, without compromise or set plan. It contains all the elements of my music in a very unconscious free flowing way. “

Departure Tapes sees Erra play and record every instrument himself along with taking on full production responsibilities at his own studio (https://widescreen.studio). 

Max Richter, Olafur Arnalds, Nils Frahm and the more electronic / ambient recordings of Brian Eno may offer a reference point by which to enter Erra’s world, but the depth within his recordings is truly original.

Departure Tapes will be released on the following formats and is available to pre-order HERE (https://GiancarloErra.lnk.to/DepartureTapes)

·       a gatefold LP on oxblood coloured 180g vinyl

·       2-disc CD/DVD with the DVD-A/V including high resolution stereo & 5.1 mix:DVD-V: stereo 24/48 LPCM lossless mixes, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, DTS 96/24 5.1 Surround and DVD-A: 5.1 Surround 24/48 LPCM lossless mixes

·       Digitally (with digital pre-orders receiving the single “Departure Tape” as an instant download)

MOUNTAIN CALLER – CHRONICLE: PROLOGUE – NEW EP RELEASED 9TH JULY (NEW HEAVY SOUNDS)

LISTEN TO FIRST SINGLE ‘BEYOND THIS BLACK HORIZON’ NOW:

Mountain Caller: Beyond This Black Horizon by New Heavy Sounds (soundcloud.com)

Hot on the heels of their debut full length album, Mountain Caller return with a new EP, Chronicle: Prologue, the follow up and conceptual prequel to their debut

Chronicle I: The Truthseeker. That album was released to wide acclaim, as well as a passionate response from an already devoted fanbase. 

Chronicle: Prologue gives further depth and insight into the conceptual story that embodies their output, as well as their own musical journey. 

Recorded alongside the debut album, Prologue’s tracks consist of the very earliest material written by the band. Opener Something Stirred From Underneath The Rubble was the true genesis of the band’s dynamic mix of heavy, expansive and progressive metal. It’s the culmination of three distinct musical voices collaborating and letting the music lead them, without aiming for any specific genre. Beyond This Black Horizon follows, a live fan-favourite and the band’s love letter to the riff. Stripped Of All But Purpose closes, with the band exploring the widest ranges of their soundscapes and heaviness, while providing some of the most fist-pumpingly metal moments of their career. These tracks highlight the band’s fundamental make up of ambition, passion, and sheer love for creation.

Conceptually, Prologue leads right up to the events of The Truthseeker. We catch our first glimpse of The Protagonist awakening under the rubble of a great fallen city, and setting forth on an oceanic voyage. After a battle that seemingly claims her life, she regains consciousness on a beach, shipwrecked and rocked by waves of sea and trauma. The band conjure Mastodon expanses of sound melded with Sabbathian riffs, all executed with Tool-like wizardry. With the EP seamlessly leading into the debut album, the band want listeners to consume one after the other, creating one cohesive hour-plus journey. Chronicle: Prologue is a chance to more fully understand the identity of the band and to explore the world they’ve summoned.

On new single ‘Beyond This Black Horizon’, bassist El Reeve comments,

‘Our new EP ‘Chronicle: Prologue’ is a prequel story to the album. It’s about the very beginning of The Protagonist’s journey, and follows her from waking up under the ruins of a devastated city, to meeting the mysterious Mountain Caller with his equally mysterious motives, and travelling across an ocean to the desert shores where we first encounter her in the album, having survived a shipwreck.

In ‘Beyond This Black Horizon’, The Protagonist has secured passage on an old ship. Its course will take her roughly in the direction that’s pressing down on her mind – she must travel onwards, no matter what. The seas become wild and violent, and the ship is battered mercilessly. And soon, through the screaming wind and rain, she can see why. The ship is grappled by colossal tentacles – a weird creature of scales, horns and bones. It’s torn to pieces and she’s plunged into the water, losing consciousness.

‘Chronicle: Prologue’ was recorded at the same time as the album with Joe Clayton at No Studio and mastered by Magnus Lindberg at VRTKL Audio AB. The sleeve artwork is by Taylor Rose.’

Chronicle: Prologue is released on July 9th on very limited vinyl and digital formats.
Pre-order: https://cargorecordsdirect.co.uk/products/mountain-caller-chronicle-prologue

Kansas launches live version of ‘Portrait (He Knew); taken from ‘Point of Know Return Live & Beyond’ out 28th May

KANSAS, America’s legendary progressive rock band has released another track from their upcoming, new live album Point of Know Return Live & Beyond out May 28, 2021. 

Fans can now stream “Portrait (He Knew) (Live 2019-20) at this link:

The song was recorded on November 16, 2019 at the Durham Performing Arts Center in Durham, NC.

This is the first live album since 2017 for the band that has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide and is famous for classic hits such as ‘Carry On Wayward Son’ and ‘Dust in the Wind,’ to progressive epics like ‘Song for America.’

The album is now available for pre-order at https://kansas.lnk.to/PointofKnowReturn-LiveBeyond

The band recently released a teaser for the live album here https://youtu.be/6s0kt7BfadM.

KANSAS previously released the live tracks “Point of Know Return (Live 2019-20)” (recorded April 4, 2019 in San Diego, CA at the Balboa Theater) and “The Wall (Live 2019-20)” (recorded February 22, 2020 in Knoxville, TN at the Tennessee Theatre).

Point of Know Return Live & Beyond is co-produced by Phil Ehart and Richard Williams, and is recorded and mixed by Chad Singer. The album features 22 songs selected from 12 shows recorded in 2019 and 2020 during KANSAS’s Point of Know Return Anniversary Tour. The setlist includes classic hits, deep cuts, and culminates with the band’s sextuple-platinum album, Point of Know Return, performed in its entirety.

Following the success of the band’s Leftoverture Anniversary Tour, KANSAS followed that tour up with the even more popular Point of Know Return Anniversary Tour. The overwhelming success of that tour, and the previous live album, Leftoverture Live & Beyond, led the band, along with Inside Out Music, to release selected songs from the tour as a live album.

“We knew we wanted to release a live album of the Point of Know Return Anniversary Tour. Being unable to tour for more than a year has given us the opportunity to work on Point of Know Return Live & Beyond and release it for our fans who are missing live concerts as much as we are,” said KANSAS drummer and album co-producer, Phil Ehart. “When we discussed who would mix the album, we thought the best possible person would be the guy who mixes the band live every night and recorded the shows on the road. Nobody knows better how KANSAS sounds live than our front of house engineer, Chad Singer!”

“This live album sounds great,” adds KANSAS guitarist and album co-producer, Richard Williams. “We wanted to make sure this album captures and represents how KANSAS sounds live in concert. Point of Know Return Live & Beyond does just that.”

Along with original KANSAS band members Phil Ehart on drums and Richard Williams on lead guitar, Point of Know Return Live & Beyond, features Tom Brislin on keyboards and vocals, Billy Greer on bass and vocals, Ronnie Platt on lead vocals and keyboards, David Ragsdale on violin and vocals, and Zak Rizvi on guitar and vocals.

Point of Know Return Live & Beyond, will be released May 28, 2021, on Inside Out Music and is distributed by The Orchard. The album will be available as a double CD digipak, triple 180-gram vinyl + 2 CD box-set, and digitally on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, iTunes, and other fine digital retailers.

Point of Know Return Live & Beyond Track Listing:
1.) Cold Grey Morning

2.) Two Cents Worth

3.) The Wall

4.) Song for America

5.) Summer

6.) Musicatto

7.) Taking in the View

8.) Miracles Out of Nowhere

9.) Point of Know Return

10.) Paradox

11.) The Spider

12.) Portrait (He Knew)

13.) Closet Chronicles

14.) Lightning’s Hand

15.) Dust in the Wind

16.) Sparks of the Tempest

17.) Nobody’s Home

18.) Hopelessly Human

19.) Carry On Wayward Son

20.) People of the South Wind

21.) Refugee

22.) Lonely Wind

When touring resumes, KANSAS will continue rescheduled Point of Know Return Anniversary Tour dates as well as KANSAS Classics tour dates. More information on the tour, including specific Point of Know Return Anniversary Tour dates, can be found at www.kansasband.com.

The band recently announced that their European Point of Know Return Anniversary Tour dates had been rescheduled to 2022. The full list of dates can be found below:

11 October 2022 – Amsterdam, Netherlands: Carre Theater

12 October 2022 – Hamburg, Germany: Docks

14 October 2022 – Helsinki, Finland: Culture House15 October 2022 – Tampere, Finland: Tamperetalo

17 October 2022 – Stockholm, Sweden: Cirkus

18 October 2022 – Oslo, Norway: Sentrum Scene

20 October 2022 – Berlin, Germany: Tempodrom

22 October 2022 – Bochum, Germany: Ruhrcongress Center

23 October 2022 – Brussels, Belgium: Cirque Royale

25 October 2022 – Paris, France: Olympia Theater

28 October 2022 – Frankfurt, Germany: Jahrhunderthalle

30 October 2022 – Heilbronn, Germany: Harmonie

31 October 2022 – Munich, Germany: Circus Krone

3 November 2022 – London, England: Palladium

FRAGMENTS, THE NEW ALBUM FROM TRIFECTA WILL BE RELEASED BY KSCOPE ON 20TH AUGUST

FIRST TRACK & VIDEO PREMIERED “PAVLOV’S DOG KILLED SCHRODINGER’S CAT”

Trifecta, a new addition to the Kscope roster, features 3 of the contemporary music scene’s most lauded and revered musicians – bassist and songwriter Nick Beggs, keyboardist extraordinaire Adam Holzman and completing the line-up, Craig Blundell – one of the world’s most celebrated drummers.  

Having performed together as part of Steven Wilson’s band, the three would jam together after soundchecks, forming what they referred to as “jazz club” and from these sessions the fledgling ideas for Fragments were born, Nick Beggs comments “after the last tour with Steven finished, we had a handful of tracks ready to work on and as we moved through our various separate projects we agreed to work on Trifecta.”

The record primarily leans toward a fusion of jazz rock, imaginatively described by Beggs as “Fission! It’s like Fusion but less efficient and more dangerous ..with fall out.” andbeing mainly instrumental with the exception of one track, the wonderfully titled and first single “Pavlov’s Dog Killed Schrodinger’s Cat”. The lyrics of which, Beggs states “are written from the perspective of a layman trying to understand quantum mechanics…and failing”.  The track also features drum programming from Russell Holzman. 

The brilliantly animated video was devised and created by Beggs himself – he comments “The film clip is a new take on the lyric video concept I guess? I made it one afternoon in my home studio using my i-phone and a writing pad!.”

Each band member completed the recording and engineering of their own contributions in their various home studios which helped in bringing their individual production ideas to each track. Adam Holzman mixed the record at his New York home studio and the mastering was handled by Andy VanDette (Rush, David Bowie, Deep Purple, Porcupine Tree, Beastie Boys) in New York.

The title for the debut came about as Nick Beggs explains “We discussed early on, the idea of each piece having a Fragment number and track title, for example – ‘Fragment 10– Pavlov’s Dog Killed Schrodinger’s Cat’.  As all the compositions were written as jams or in our home studios this idea seemed even more prescient. So, we titled the album ‘Fragments’”.

Fragments will be released on 20th August via Kscope on CD, black vinyl LP, ltd edition neon orange vinyl LP (exclusive to www.kscopemusic.com/store ) and digitally. Pre-orders are available now HERE(https://TrifectaKscope.lnk.to/Fragments)

1. Clean Up On Aisle Five [03:07] 

2. Check Engine Light [02:55] 

3. Proto Molecule [02:20] 

4. Auntie [02:57] 

5. Venn Diagram [02:42] 

6. The Enigma Of Mr. Fripp [02:44] 

7. Sally Doo-Dally [02:54] 

8. Have You Seen What The Neighbours Are Doing? [02:58] 

9. The Mute Gospel [03:16] 

10. Pavlov`s Dog Killed Schrodinger`s Cat [04:12] 

11. Voyage Of Discovery [03:02] 

12. Nightmare In Shining Armor [02:00] 

13. Dry Martini [03:13] 

14. Lie 2 Me And Take My Money [03:13] 

15. Hold It Like That[03:28]

Can’t wait until 20th August? Curious to know more now?

Fans can check out an album teaser HERE(https://youtu.be/IU0ojwQ2YtU)

Big Big Train announce new album ‘Common Ground’ out on July 30th, 2021

First single and video for title track out today!

UK tour dates revealed for March 2022

July 30th, 2021 sees the release of ‘Common Ground’, the self-produced new album from Big Big Train on their own label, English Electric Recordings. The new album, recorded during the worldwide pandemic, sees the band continue their tradition of dramatic narratives but also tackles issues much closer to home, such as the Covid lockdowns, the separation of loved ones, the passage of time, deaths of people close to the band and the hope that springs from a new love.

Watch the new video for the title track, created by Christian Rios, here:

“This is unashamedly a love song. It is about finding things that we share and have in common with other people. When my partner and I first came together as a couple, we lived not far from Avebury in Wiltshire, a very Big Big Train kind of place. The chalk hills and standing stones were part of the imagery of our ‘Folklore’ album, and once again I was writing what was literally happening in the location in which we found ourselves. I remember seeing my white chalk dust footprints upon the black of the car mats after we’d been walking around Avebury.  I’m pleased that we both get to have this time with each other and ‘Common Ground’ is about finding out the things that we have in common with each other and deciding what we want to do in life together.” – David Longdon

Tracklisting:

1. The Strangest Times
2. All The Love We Can Give
3. Black With Ink
4. Dandelion Clock
5. Headwaters
6. Apollo
7. Common Ground
8. Atlantic Cable
9. Endnotes

‘Common Ground’ is available for pre-order now as Double Vinyl, CD, and Bandcamp Download at these sites:
https://burningshed.com/store/bigbigtrain
https://bigbigtrain.bandcamp.com

‘Common Ground’ sees the band taking in wider musical and lyrical inspiration from artists such as Elbow, Pete Townshend, Tears For Fears, Elton John and XTC, as well as acknowledging their more progressive roots. As ever, Big Big Train will take listeners on a journey, be it waiting for the UK 5pm pandemic press conferences (’The Strangest Times’) to the library of Alexandria (‘Black With Ink’) to the bottom of the ocean (‘Atlantic Cable’).
 
For the ‘Common Ground’ tour, which will be their most extensive to date and which will culminate in the UK with a show at the prestigious London Palladium, Greg Spawton (bass), David Longdon (lead vocals, flute), Nick D’Virgilio (drums, vocals) and Rikard Sjöblom (guitars, keyboards, vocals) will be joined by Carly Bryant (keyboards, guitars, vocals), who contributes vocals to ‘Common Ground’, Dave Foster (guitars), who plays on two tracks on the new album, Clare Lindley (violin, vocals) and by a five piece brass ensemble. The band expect to announce North American tour dates shortly.
 
Big Big Train has taken lyrical and musical inspiration from periods of history that are recognised as great leaps forward. Now with ‘Common Ground’, they are making such a surge themselves.
BIG BIG TRAIN UK TOUR 2022
 
TUE, MARCH 15TH – YORK, BARBICAN
WED, MARCH 16TH – CAMBRIDGE, CORN EXCHANGE
FRI, MARCH 18TH – BIRMINGHAM, SYMPHONY HALL
SAT, MARCH 19TH – BATH, FORUM
MON, MARCH 21ST – GLASGOW, ROYAL CONCERT HALL
TUE, MARCH 22ND – MANCHESTER, BRIDGEWATER HALL
WED, MARCH 23RD – LONDON, PALLADIUM
 
TICKETS ON SALE FROM MAY 14th, 2021
https://myticket.co.uk/artists/big-big-train

GIANCARLO ERRA RETURNS WITH SPELLBINDING NEW ALBUM DEPARTURE TAPES

TO BE RELEASED ON KSCOPE ON 2ND JULY 2021

First single & video for track “Departure Tape” premiered 

Departure Tapes is an album consisting of 6 contemplative recordings, written while travelling between the UK and Italy. The majority of these 6 tracks were improvised in the studio by Erra, so for the most part, are totally unique and hold a sincerity which cannot be replicated. It is the follow up to 2019’s acclaimed album Ends I-VII, with the new recordings reflecting what, has been an extremely difficult year for Giancarlo, with the loss of his father to cancer. Erra comments “In 2019 my first solo album was just being released, and I already had the view that I wanted to be more experimental with the second one, but no precise idea how at that point. Then my father suddenly got ill with cancer, and everything changed.”

Erra, having had a fractured and conflicted relationship with his father since his early teenage years found a way to turn this distressing time into a cathartic experience, “he left when I was 14 and since then he wasn’t really part of my life. Then I received the news of his terminal illness and somehow, I found myself in a situation where I was taking care of this man, someone who I have been distanced from for so long.  During this period, I realised it had become a time for both of us to come to terms with many things. I wanted to get closure, but a positive one, for him and for me, and I think he was the same even though he maybe didn’t know it; this was hard but at the same time ‘healing’ and in a painful twist, it was possibly the most close and positive few months I had with him since I was a small child.” He explains the influence this had on him creatively“It’s the first album I have created without realising I was actually writing it, as it is so intrinsically linked to one of the hardest and yet more healing parts of my life. The end result is the most experimental, and at the times, the darkest material I have ever written, without compromise or set plan. It contains all the elements of my music in a very unconscious free flowing way. 

Watch the video for Departure Tape here:

The first single to be taken from the new album is the extremely poignant and personal “Departure Tape” with the video dedicated to Erra’s father, he explains “This track was written I think when I came back from my first visit to Italy to see my father after he had been diagnosed. It really just began as a live experiment – born and finished within one afternoon. I remember I didn’t really want to do anything; I was exhausted and down, but then, when I started playing the track took shape. I discovered there was much more going on inside my head that needed to be faced. For me, music has been always the only way I can do that, and from this introspection ‘Departure Tape’ was born. It’s almost as a free subconscious stream of thoughts and feelings while recording everything that was happening.”

Giancarlo Erra began his musical career in 2005 with one man studio project Nosound. 2008 saw him signing with Kscope and released a string of albums under the Nosound banner before recording his debut solo ‘Ends I-VII’. Departure Tapes sees Erra play and record every instrument himself along with taking on full production responsibilities at his own studio (https://widescreen.studio). 

Max Richter, Olafur Arnalds, Nils Frahm and the more electronic / ambient recordings of Brian Eno may offer a reference point by which to enter Erra’s world, but the depth within his recordings is truly original.

Departure Tapes tracklisting  

1. Dawn Tape [06:15] 

2. Previous Tape [01:48] 

3. 169th Tape [02:51] 

4. Unwound Tape [08:24] 

5. Departure Tape [16:51] 

6. A Blues For My Father [07:31] 

Departure Tapes will be released on the following formats and is available to pre-order HERE (https://GiancarloErra.lnk.to/DepartureTapes)

·       a gatefold LP on oxblood coloured 180g vinyl

·       2-disc CD/DVD with the DVD-A/V including high resolution stereo & 5.1 mix:DVD-V: stereo 24/48 LPCM lossless mixes, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, DTS 96/24 5.1 Surround and DVD-A: 5.1 Surround 24/48 LPCM lossless mixes

·       Digitally (with digital pre-orders receiving the single “Departure Tape” as an instant download from 22nd April)

(photography by Caroline Traitler)