December
28,
2013 Another
year, another Xmas... and the first bit of seasonal
good news
is that all the writing and recording for the new 'N'monix'
album is finished. Yee-haaa!! Over the next
few days I'll be dotting the i's and crossing the t's
before putting it safely in the can (plus several backups...!)
The second bit of good news is that it's being
released on Cherry Red's progressive rock label, Esoteric.
This change from releasing it myself means
that distribution of the album will be wider, so it
should be available from more outlets than previous
albums. However, it also means that I won't
be selling it directly from my website shop (at
least not initially) but there will be links to places
I know to be stocking it.
Release
date is currently projected to be April 2014. As
soon as I have something more concrete I'll post it
here and anywhere else I can think of.
Wishing
everyone a Happy New Year, and a 2014 devoid of all
shabbiness!
Here's the list of the
album tracks and guest musicians...
TIME Tony Patterson - Vocals
MEMORY Kate Faber - Soprano Voice
KOMBAT
KID Tony Patterson - Vocals Nick
- Richard of York, aged 6
HEADCASE Nick - Vocals
EMINENT
VICTORIANS Pete Hicks - Lead Vocal Steve
Hackett - Electric Guitar Andy Neve - Backing Vocals
BROKEN Tim Bowness - Vocals Steve Hackett -
Guitar Arpeggios Rob Townsend - Soprano Sax, Flute
SHADOWLAND Steve Hackett - Electric Guitar
ENTROPY James Reeves - Lead Vocal Andy Neve
- Backing Vocals
September
2013 Dick
Foster not only writes wonderful lyrics for the albums,
but is also the creative mastermind behind the promotional
videos. For the video we're currently working
on, Dick has put in the most incredible amount of hard
work and ingenuity. I've been watching it come
together bit by bit, and I can't wait to see the
final shots in place, which were filmed last Monday.
This involved a stage set themed on the Industrial
Revolution, and a special guest star - Steve came along
to do the honours in front of the camera for his
stunning guitar solo. The video will go
online prior to the album's release date. So no
time to lose, then - I'd better get on with it! Meanwhile,
here's a shot of the boys taking
a break between shifts in the boiler room...
August
2013
There's been a fair amount of progress
with the new album over the last couple of months, with six tracks more or less
complete and just a couple more to write. I've
been lucky enough to have had some stellar guest contributions
to the album.
Steve
Hackett plays on three tracks, which include two dazzling
guitar solos; Pete Hicks provided one of his characterful
lead vocals; Rob Townsend laid down some amazingly acrobatic
soprano sax; Andy Neve provided his trademark airy
backing vocals, and soprano vocalist Kate Faber reached
unerringly into the stratosphere.
Most
recently, No-Man's Tim Bowness contributed an incredibly
heartfelt and moving lead vocal - I recommend keeping
the Kleenex close to hand! Mr Tony Patterson is
due to trek down from Newcastle to add his vocal talents
very soon - a couple of fun days that I'm looking forward to!
If
my descriptions seem a bit 'lovey' it's just that I
can't stress enough how fortunate I am to
have access to such talented musicians. I feel the need
to borrow Richard Attenborough's stirrup pump...
Well,
at
last the temperature is cooling down a bit, so hopefully
I'll be able to spend a bit more time in the studio
without melting into a sweaty blob - not conducive to
creativity! No, I don't have air conditioning!
And
plans are afoot for a video of at least one of the tracks...
March 26th
2013 Back
in August last year, I was invited by Canadian
uberdrum-meister Eddie Zeeman to guest on a 'progified' version of The
Who's 'Baba O'Riley'. I'm delighted to say the track features on Eddie's
'Guilty Pleasures' EP, now available from CD Baby... http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/eddiezeeman
February 28th
2013
More fab guitar work from Steve today... The
G major 7th with flattened 3rd provides a moment of
sheer ecstacy for the boys... Photo
by: Jo Hackett
February 2013 It's
been quite an eventful month so far... on Thursday
7th, I was privileged to have Steve Hackett provide
a highly evocative performance on a rather unusual track.
Steve's guitar features prominently, with only
a choir for accompaniment - not an obvious combination
perhaps, but one that fans of Mr. H will hopefully enjoy
very much! I'm delighted that Steve will be returning
later this month to add his talents to two more tracks
for the album.
There
was a new musical discovery (for me, anyway)... The
Bach Choir was at the Royal Festival Hall performing
Poulenc's 'Gloria' - a work I'd not heard before. I
was bowled over by it - it's both joyful and sublime,
with elements you could almost describe as Prog -
it's definitely one to track down for the CD collection.
Also,
a surprise birthday lunch... in Paris! Strangely,
the day included a trip down the Paris sewers - perhaps 'Les
Mis' had a profound effect. Didn't see Jean Valjean,
though - but they did have some stuffed rats. We
rounded up with an excellent Dali exhibition at the
Pompidou Centre, a huge and diverse collection of
works ranging from psuedo Pre-Raphaelite styles to video
art - far more than the usual disembodied limbs
draped over forked sticks.
January 2013 People
have been asking if there's a new album in the works
- and I'm pleased to say the answer is yes! Dick
Foster is providing the lyrics as always, and he's already
begun work on one of the album's promo videos.
This time the album deals with a subject that
many of us may well relate to on a personal level. Progress
has begun to pick up apace this month, despite
unwelcome distractions (a humungous leak in the bathroom
that meant replacing the entire floor and half of a
stud wall...) but hey, the show must go on! On
Wednesday 16th, über-maestro
Rob Townsend rolled up to record some sensational
soprano sax - and boy, can that man play. Having
seen Rob perform numerous times with the Hackett
live band, it was a no-brainer to ask him to sprinkle
his magic on a track for this album, and I couldn't
be more thrilled by his contribution.
January
was also movie month - it was a pleasure to see
Maggie Smith doing some proper acting in 'Quartet' as
opposed to the gurning she does in Downton Abbey...
(although we love that too) and Russell Crowe is
really a much better singer than the reviews of 'Les
Miserables' would have us believe. Poor Russell!
)
