News Archive: 2018
This page features news items from 2018.
Some of the information included here may now be out-of-date and this page is here for reference purposes only.
Field Day : Digipak Edition (News date: 22-8-18, updated 21-11-18)
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Esoteric Recordings is pleased to announce the release of a 3 disc edition (2 CDs, 1 DVD) of Field Day, the beautiful instrumental double album originally released in 2005. The album saw Anthony utilise 6-string guitar, 10-string guitar, 12-string guitar, cittern, bouzouki, charango and mandolin to great effect with Field Day receiving a warm response from Anthony Phillips aficionados upon its release. With this new edition, Ant has revisited the recordings, re-mastering the original stereo mixes and has created a 5.1 Surround sound mix with engineer James Collins. The results bring a new life to the compositions and a much loved album. This 3 disc digipack edition includes a booklet with new essay by Jonathan Dann and comments from Anthony Phillips. Update: The new edition of Field Day is out now and is available to order from Cherry Red and Amazon. |
BBC Radio 4 Natural Histories (News date: 8-8-18)
The BBC Radio 4 programme Natural Histories takes a look at animals and plants and speaks to a variety of different people to discover the influence and inspiration the chosen subject has had on different areas of life. The most recent episode, which was first broadcast on 7th August, investigated the enduring appeal of the otter and Ant was interviewed for the programme to talk about the inspiration behind the writing of Tarka.
Private Parts & Pieces IX - XI reviews (News date: 5-6-18, updated 10-8-18)
Some reviews of the recently released Private Parts & Pieces IX - XI set have been posted online and can be read on the following sites: Louder Than War, Sea of Tranquility, Music Street Journal, The Second Disc, DMME and Sounds Magazine. The latter review also includes an interview with Ant.
A review on the Rythmes Croisés site (in French) can be read here.
In addition, reviews of Private Parts & Pieces IX - XI have been included in the print editions of Mojo and Record Collector.
Prog Magazine article (News date: 23-7-18)
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Issue 89 of Prog magazine includes a
feature by Daryl Easlea about the start of Peter Gabriel's solo
career and in particular how he spent the year after leaving
Genesis.
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Forty Years of Wise After The Event (News date: 31-5-18)
Forty years on from its original release, Ant looks back at his second solo album Wise After The Event in this brand-new video clip. Amongst other things, he reflects on the recording of the album, working with producer Rupert Hine, the critical reaction to the album in both 1978 and 2016 and how it has had a new lease of life in an unexpected musical genre.
Harmony for Elephants CD (News date: 31-3-18, updated 28-5-18)
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Looking back at City of Dreams (News date: 14-5-18)
In the third of our brand new videos to tie-in with the release of Private Parts & Pieces IX - XI, Ant looks back at the eleventh and to date most recent release in the Private Parts and Pieces series.
Looking back at Soirée (News date: 8-5-18)
Here's the second of our brand new videos in which Ant looks back at Private Parts & Pieces X: Soirée and talks about recording a second album of pieces for solo piano.
Private Parts & Pieces IX - XI in the charts (News date: 8-5-18)
We're pleased to announce that Private Parts & Pieces IX - XI was a new entry at number 37 in the Official UK Top 40 Rock Albums chart that was published on May 4th. Thank you to everyone in the UK who has bought a copy and has given Ant his first domestic chart placing.
Looking back at Dragonfly Dreams (News date: 30-4-18)
To tie-in with the release of Private Parts & Pieces IX - XI, here's our brand new video in which Ant looks back at Private Parts & Pieces IX: Dragonfly Dreams and talks about his collaboration with Quique Berro Garcia.
Private Parts & Pieces IX - XI (News date: 22-2-18, updated 28-4-18)
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Esoteric Recordings is proud to announce the release of a remastered 4 CD clamshell boxed set which gathers together Volumes IX to XI of the Private Parts & Pieces albums (Dragonfly Dreams, Soirée and City of Dreams) along with Private Parts and Extra Pieces III, an additional 18-track CD of previously unreleased material, featuring recordings made between 1990 and 2012. Private Parts & Pieces IX - XI is the definitive statement on these classic albums. The set includes a lavish booklet with an essay by Jonathan Dann and fully restores the artwork of the original releases. Originally released in 1996, Dragonfly Dreams drew upon a mixture of newly-written and previously recorded material. The album features a number of tracks co-written and recorded by Ant with Quique Berro Garcia as well as Chinese Walls, a 17-minute piece for 12-string guitar. Soirée was the second album in the Private Parts & Pieces series to feature a collection of pieces for solo piano. The newly-composed material featured on the album is complimented by a freshly arranged version of Creation, which was written in 1968. City of Dreams is the eleventh and to date the most recent release in the Private Parts and Pieces series. It draws upon keyboard-based material to take the listener through a number of moods ranging from the epic to the reflective via atmospheric soundscapes to create a rich and ultimately rewarding journey for the imagination. Private Parts & Pieces IX - XI is out now and is available to order now from Cherry Red and Amazon. The complete track listing for the set can be seen here. |
Dale Newman (News date: 28-3-18)
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The name and voice of Dale
Newman will no doubt be familiar from his vocal contribution to
Ant's album Sides, mostly
notably on the epic Bleak House.
Dale started working as a guitar roadie for
Genesis in 1975 and after several years of touring with the band, he
accepted the challenge of finding a property suitable for their
private studio, which became known as The Farm in Surrey.
There Dale contributed to the setup and
maintenance of recording sessions and found time to write and record
three albums of his own material.
After his time working with Genesis, Dale
built his own studio and has continued to write and record music,
recently completing a new studio album which he has co-produced with
Brian Coombes.
You can find out more about Dale and hear extracts from the new album on his recently launched website, where copies of his new album can also be ordered. Dale also has a Facebook page and can be followed on Twitter. |
Gemini performance video (News date: 23-3-18)
In January we reported about the World Premiere of Gemini, a piano piece which Ant recently composed and subsequently developed into a duet for two pianos with the help of pianist Gabriele Baldocci. Gemini is dedicated to the internationally renowned pianist Martha Argerich and during two concerts which she and Gabriele performed in Valencia and Barcelona, the piece was included as one of the encores following a programme which included piano works by Liszt, Shostakovich, Schumann, Rachmaninov and Ravel.
An official video of the performance of the piece from the concert at Barcelona has now been released and can be seen below.
Invisible Men reviews (News date: 8-1-18, updated 21-2-18)
Some press reviews of the remastered and expanded edition of Invisible Men have been posted online and can be read on the following sites: All About The Rock, Sea of Tranquility, Music Street Journal, The Recoup, Get Ready To Rock!, Prog and Record Collector. Reviews have also now been published on The Second Disc, JP's Music Blog, Exposé Online and DMME.
Das Slow Dance-Projekt (News date: 14-2-18)
Further to the video we posted a few months ago of a live performance of Part One of Slow Dance from the German Genesis Fan Club "Anthony Phillips Event" in 2014, a new video clip has just been released. This documents a session by the musicians involved to record a studio version of the same section of Slow Dance a few weeks after the event. The studio version was recorded but remained unmixed for almost four years when the anniversary of the untimely passing of Thomas Waltner who took part in the original performance and the subsequent recording provided the impetus to complete it.
An interesting article about how the live performance and studio recording came about has been published on the German Genesis Fan Club site and can be read here. Our thanks to Tom Morgenstern for letting us know about the recording and this video of the session.
Gemini World Premiere (News date: 13-1-18, updated 16-1-18)
Ant recently composed a new piano piece called Gemini, which was subsequently developed into a duet for two pianos with the help of pianist Gabriele Baldocci. Thursday 11th January saw the World Premiere performance of the piece by the internationally renowned pianist Martha Argerich and Gabriele at a concert held in the Spanish city of Valencia. Gemini was played as the encore following a programme which included piano works by Liszt, Shostakovich, Schumann, Rachmaninov and Ravel.
Two further concerts were played in Spain as part of this tour - at the Auditorio Nacional de Musica in Madrid on Sunday 14th January (where the piece was not performed) and at the Palau de la Musica Catalana in Barcelona on Monday 15th January where Gemini was played as one of the encores.
Online shop open (News date: 9-1-18, updated 23-1-18)
Our online shop is open again and we are pleased to be able to offer a selection of the titles from Ant's back catalogue that are currently out-of-print. All CDs are new and unplayed and in most cases we only have a limited number of copies available.
Nakedly Examined Music Podcast (News date: 8-1-18)
Ant has given an interview for an edition of the Nakedly Examined Music Podcast, which provides an in-depth conversation with musicians about their music and the composition process. In the podcast Ant talks about three tracks from his back catalogue and reveals a number of interesting facets about them.