Quantum Voodoo by lord of the ants is coming soon……………..

AD Music is pleased to announce the extraordinary debut release; “Quantum Voodoo” by Lord Of The Ants. This download album will be available on 7th December 2009 and is a sensational mixture of various electronic music and contemporary rock styles, influences and philosophies. This is a truly original and spectacular album – an eclectic mix of dark ambient tones, dreamy landscapes, driving sequencers and screaming guitars.  ‘Quantum Voodoo’ takes you into a new musical realm – a place of magic, of unexplored themes, mysterious rhythms and inspirational new sounds.

Lord of the Ant’s own galvanic, compelling brand of electronica is heavily influenced by electronic music’s eager adopters, which dutifully include Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Brian Eno, Tomita, Vangelis and many other innovators of the early EM scene.  Other more contemporary influences include Radiohead, Code Indigo, Boards of Canada, Moby, Aphex Twin, Sigur Ros and Café del Mar.

Quantum Voodoo’s multifarious musical style and alluring abstract themes are designed to appeal to the ‘thinker’ in all of us – encouraging us to explore our own reality and to reach out into the fringes of our understanding and to ultimately confront our own beliefs and prejudices.

Lord of the Ants – Quantum Voodoo (AD78CD) (Digital release 7th December 2009)

1.    Quantum Voodoo (6:36)
2.   Something killed My Dog (4:39)
3.   Growl back at the World (4:52)
4.   Rock and a Hard Place (5;49)
5.   Monkey Gun (3;16)
6.   Noisy Places (4:25)
7.   Indifferent Sea (6:00)
8.   Hanging in Space (5:43)
9.   Ism (4:13)
10.  Borrow Tomorrow (4:37)
11.  World On Fire (8:52)
12.  Road Movie (6:48)
13.  Made in the USA (4:34)
14.  Los Angeles Lounge lizard (8:06)

 

David Wright & Robert Fox “Before Time” download album coming soon…………….

Robert Fox & David Wright AD80CD (100 minutes download only) 1st December release date (price £8:45)

Before Time (Collectors Edition – the original studio recording sessions of “Time Code” by David Wright & Robert Fox)

This download album gathers the original studio recordings of the momentous Code Indigo album “Time Code” as composed by David Wright & Robert Fox. The album includes previously unreleased instrumental music and the original unreleased versions of some of the music to be found on the Time Code album. It is a fascinating insight into the compositional process, showing the original compositions and how they differ from the eventual album release after the input of Dave Massey (rhythms), Louise Eggerton (vocals) and Andy Lobban & Nigel Turner-Heffer (guitars) transformed the Wright/Fox compositions into Code Indigo music.

The music on “Before Time” was recorded live and edited afterwards to review for inclusion in the Code Indigo Time Code project, so there is a real spontaniety and live feel to it all that makes the whole album wonderfully chilled and compelling. The 15 Before Time” tracks are interlinked to produce one drifting electronic space music epic and it’s much, much more than just a rough draft – here are the original, sometimes quite inspired electronic music performances of tracks like “24am” and “Call of the Earth”, plus beautiful additional pieces that never made the final album simply because of the time constraints and the sheer amount of excellent material composed. And in the bonus “Time Code Exodus” track, you’ll hear further alternate versions and arrangements. This collection shows just how prolific Wright & Fox were during this period and it is a worthy companion to the “Time Code” album itself, and most definitely worthy of a special download release.

Before Time
BT1 (1:40)
BT2 (1:13)
BT3 (2:51)
BT4 (5:50)
BT5 (4:58)
BT6 (4:39)
BT7 (1:16)
BT8 (8:07)
BT9 (10:22)
BT10 (2:32)
BT11 (3:33)
BT12 (8:21)
BT13 (0:53)
BT14 (2:33)
BT15 (8:09)
Time Code Exodus (34:23)

Composed by David Wright & Robert Fox 2004
Edited, Arranged and produced by David Wright 2004-2009

Order David Wright CD “Sines of Life Volume 1″ and get Volume 2 free!

Pre-order your copy of the CD “Sines of Life Volume 1″ now to ensure it’s with you in time for Christmas and to take advantage of our exciting and exclusive offer to get your “Sines of Life Volume 2″ download album, absolutely free! This second collection contains an additional 113 minutes of David Wright electronic music.

To qualify for your free download album, order “Sines of Life Volume 1″ direct from AD Music before the Monday 7th December 2009 release date. This “free” offer is only available as a download through the AD Music website. On the day your “Sines of Life Volume 1″ CD is shipped we will email you a download link to obtain the additional instrumental music of Volume 2 absolutely free.

If you would like the download album as a double CDr with your Volume 1 CD then please note the free offer only applies to downloads, so there is a nominal charge for the CDr. Please click the appropriate order button on the AD Music site at http://www.admusiconline.com/main/DavidWright-index.php

Sines of Life Volume 1  (AD69CD) CD

01. September Dawn (4:51)
02. Cassini – Live USA 2007 (14:04)
03. Walking with Ghosts – Live 2009 with Ian Boddy & Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock (11:59)
04. Beyond Paradise – Live 2008 with Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock (7:42)
05. Just an Illusion – Live 2008 with Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock (9:48)
06. Sines of Life (6:44)
07. State of Bliss – Live 2008 with Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock (11:54)
08. 3 a.m. – Live 2007 with Robert Fox & Nigel Turner-Heffer (3:04)
09. All Good Things………. (8:27)

**************************************************

Sines of Life (Volume 2) AD73CD Download album

01. First Call (4:58)
02. Kaleidoscope (10:38)
03. Depth from Motion (16:34)
04. Passing Thru (12:03)
05 Cosmosis by David Wright and Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock (20:55)
06. Nomad (alternate version) (9:49)
07. China (32:53)
08. A Night in September (5:13)
Sines of Life Volume 2 is a collection of tracks that were either unreleased live tracks, commissioned pieces, or music that never made it on to CD albums due to time constraints or because the tracks didn’t quite fit the feel of those albums. But they are all tracks the artist would like to have seen released.

So this epic 113 minute download is a fascinating and varied collection of music from David Wright available as a free download to customers who pre-order the CD “Sines of Life Volume 1″ before 7th December 2009. Thereafter the download will be available to purchase at £8:45 (or as double CDr at £13.99).

Steve Barnes – New Day (CD)

Earlier in the year AD Music signed on Steve Barnes’s excellent piano based album “New Day”. Initially this was to be a digital album but the reaction to the excellent music contained therein has prompted us to reconsider and “New Day” is now available on CD. It is an exquisite contemporary instrumental music album from Steve Barnes, who is better known for his Trance music during the 1990’s. “New Day” is a superbly produced and very smooth excursion into romantic new age style electronica that may be a long way from his former Trance/Dance music days, but as you would expect, has all the hallmarks of a seasoned composer and producer who knows how to construct a tune and convey the emotion and atmosphere required to keep the listener interested.

“New Day” contains 11 tracks of soothing and drifting electronica that features superbly played piano and acoustic guitar themes over the most chilled of rhythms. There is a warmth here that is almost sensual; melancholy yet uplifting; contemplative yet always involving; beautiful but not sugary. “New Day” is one of those albums that will be on repeat play as you discover the wonderful depth and subtlety in Steve’s emotional and dreamlike music. The delicate, melodic piano themes are infectious and will gently caress you, putting you under a spell that will find you gently tapping your feet as the chilled rhythms come in to play. Whilst there are clearly nods to the likes of Mike Oldfield, Ludovico Einaudi and Debussy, “New Day” remains an original album with a clear identity that is both beautiful and incredibly rewarding.

Should also appeal to fans of the more melodic electronic music.

Track Listing:

1.  Watching Clouds – 5:18
2.  Distant Storm – 4:43
3.  Birds in Flight – 4:38
4.  New Day – 5:01
5.  The Hills – 5:19
6.  Falling Leaves – 4:29
7.  The Meadow – 4:45
8.  Still Waters – 4:26
9.  Lullabye – 3:48
10. A Snow Scene – 4:11
11. Reflections – 4:28

David Wright – Sines of Life

01. September Dawn (4:51) 02. Cassini – Live (14:04) 03. Walking with Ghosts – Live (11:59)
04. Beyond Paradise – Live (7:42) 05. Just an Illusion – Live (9:48) 06. Sines of Life (6:44)
07. State of Bliss – Live (11:54) 08. 3 a.m. – Live (3:04) 09. All Good Things………. (8:27)
(Total album time 78.40)

Release date: 7th December 2009

David Wright remains a popular figure in the electronic music scene and there has been increased interest in his music since New World Music took on the distribution of his extensive catalogue in 2009. “Sines of Life (Vol. 1) is David’s 20th solo CD release in a career that spans more than 20 years and the album has been something of a labour of love, as explained in the informative 16 page booklet that also includes lots of photos and details of additional music to be found on the download only “Volume 2″ album.

“Sines of Life – Volume 1″ contains new studio material alongside imaginative live re-workings of classic David Wright compositions from concerts during 2007 and 2009 featuring guest musicians, and it’s no understatement to say that it’s a majestic tour de force of instrumental music and new age electronica.

From the evocative opening “September Dawn” to the truly awesome closing epic “All Good things……….”, the music on offer here covers rhythmic to emotive, atmospheric to melodic and is mature instrumental electronic music with class and style that is nothing short of sensational.

The perennial favorite “Walking with Ghosts” is replayed as a brand new arrangement that is simply sublime and features another UK synth luminary Ian Boddy on keyboards and German guitar legend Klaus Hoffmann Hook, who also plays the Memotron.

Another beautiful reworking is “Beyond Paradise”, this time featuring Hoffmann-Hoock on electric sitar, while “Just an Illusion” and “State of Bliss” are again completely new imaginings of the original album tracks that here feature stunning cosmic guitar work from Hoffmann-Hoock.

The remaining songs include the atmospheric piano based title piece, a previously unreleased live track featuring Robert Fox & Nigel Turner-Heffer titled “3 a.m.” and a new interpretation of David’s popular epic “Cassini” recorded at his 2007 USA concert.

The production is superb and with a running time of over 78 minutes this fitting anniversary album provides both quality and quantity. If you’re already familiar with the work of David Wright, then this album really is a “must have” because the reworked live tracks are significantly different from the originals to differentiate this set from a traditional “Greatest Hits” compilation. If you’re not and you’re into good quality, melodic and emotive electronic music, then “Sines of Life” has more than enough quality to warrant your investigation and ensure your interest.

An album that’s destined to run and run and a terrific addition to an already impressive catalogue.

Geigertek – The Timeless Mind due soon

FINALLY…………

…………the second Geigertek album, “The Timeless Mind”, is finished and the masters are now with AD Music, ready for release sometime in early 2010. I’m very pleased with it and whilst I don’t want to sounded conceited, it’s sounding good with some strong moments and one track that really does stand out (“Spirit-Walking”) is going to be included on a forth-coming AD electronic music compilation CD. I find it interesting that the sound and the feel of “The Timeless Mind” is a long way off what I originally planned and a couple of tracks have altered radically since they were first recorded. It’s been a labour of love over an 18 month period, not least with two tracks needing to have their production stripped right back and re-done from the ground up which took a couple of months to sort out!!! Here’s a breakdown of the album:

 

01. The Stirring Of Echoes
02. Passing
03. What Dreams May Come
04. Until The End Of Time
05. In Another Light
06. The Embrace Of Eternity
07. The Timeless Mind
08. Spirit-Walking
09. The Gift Of Goodbye

As with “The Garden”, this instrumental music album twists and turns it’s moods and atmosphere’s, moving from out and out ambient to almost Berlinesque sequencing all within the same track in one instance. The opening track has an air of uncertainty about it, something waiting to happen played out over a wash of shifting filtered noise and small echoing bells. I’ve also indulged in another classically influenced piece (“Passing”), using the sounds of a quartet of piano, flute, cello and viola, bringing in a full orchestra before degrading the sound of a massive held chord through an array of processors (bitcrusher, harmonic filter, delay, granulator and lashings of deep and long reverb). The mood lightens with “What Dreams May Come” with it’s gentle sequenced harp and synthetic rhythms before a percussion section joins the build-up to the synth lead (courtesy of the freebie VST called Minimogue). Ambience returns with “Until The End Of Time”, an emotional piece that brings great washes of rumbling synth pads and swirling pseudo-percussion, before a delicately simple piano passage. “In Another Light” takes another step in a different direction as an abrupt start brings the listener back to reality with it’s piano intro leading into swirling synth pads and then settling down with an almost hypnotic rhythm playing against a wash of choirs, tinking piano, muted synth sections and a gritty overdriven synth lead – one listener claimed the pice gave them goose-bumps!!! “The Embrace Of Eternity” is a mixture of out and out ambience and pseudo-Berlinesque sequencing with a bunch of Radiophonic Workshop type sounds thrown in for good measure, finishing with an insanely cool flanged/filtered layered pad from the Alchemy synth. The title track has an up-tempo feel and is a kind of hybrid sound of trance and calypso with some lovely sounding synth leads from the Oddity (an ARP Odyssey emulation) and electronic effects – very Radiophonic Workshop in places!!! And the same can be said of the strongest and most commercial track, “Spirit-Walking” – bouncing sequences, persistant Giorgio Moroder style basslines and flanged hi-hats, guitar and a complete steal of the Billy Currie Odyssey synth lead sound – it works!!! The closing track is one that I’m pleased with. “The Gift Of Goodbye” closes the album in what I feel is a rather cool way – gorgeous lush choral sounds (my first foray into sampling using my own voice multi-sampled and pitch corrected using the Roland V-Vocal that came with Sonar 7 Producer), dramatic orchestral strings and a massive church organ – all before a quirky and unexpected finish – David Wright laughed like a drain when he heard it and couldn’t believe what I had done – I just hope people will get it

So now it’s done, what’s next? Sadly, because of time and work constrictions, I’ve had to shelve the Geigertek-Elektro project for now – gutted, as the singer Manda has a great voice and we could have put on a great set, but alas circumstances have dictated otherwise. That said, I’ve already started baseline work on the next Geigertek album, ideas are abounding and again a different approach will be taken as I want to explore other areas of electronic music, not least using more software emulations of classic vintage synths and devling further into sampling and sound processing. Work on a new Code Indigo album starts in the New Year with David Wright, Dave Massey and Nigel Turner-Heffer, something I’m very excited about, as well as preparing for more live Geigertek (awaiting confirmation of 2 or 3 gigs already) including the possiblity of doing web-streamed gigs from my front room – lol!!! I also want to look into doing an evening of music in Norwich with other local musos, I’ve bounced the idea off of one performer and he was very receptive to the idea – keep a watch on this space for that one. After the success of the Hampshire Jam, David Wright is keen to get Callisto playing more live sets next year and of course Code Indigo will be out playing live as well.

So all in all, 2010 looks set to be a busy year on the music front, and it’s nice to have things which will see the day of light rather than sit on back-burners. Involvement with Code Indigo and Callisto have really helped to move things forward and I’ve been quite lucky. It seems unreal that 2 years ago I was about to approach AD Music with “The Garden”, back then I would never have dreamt of playing alongside David Wright, being a member of Code Indigo, performing at events with Ian Boddy, Ron Boots, Brendan Pollard and Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock as well as sharing a dressing room with Radio Massacre International!!! And all these things are greatly appreciated as are the times before all this when the first pieces of music went up onto MySpace and I came into contact with a new group of like-minded people.

It’s all good

Callisto – Hampshire Jam ‘09

Well, it came around pretty quickly after a long and busy year for Dave Massey and me, culminating in a several last minute panics when new Callisto on stage member Neil Fellowes was poorly and forced to miss the planned final rehearsals prior to the gig. Then on the day, during set up, I somehow managed to damage cruciate knee ligaments and was forced to play the entire gig seated and in considerable pain. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the event and not playing was never an option. Neil enjoyed himself too on his first Callisto outing and the new look live line-up means there is a good chance of future Callisto performances.

This years Hampshire Jam was coordinated by Ian Boddy (Din) and Dave Law (SMD), and was a thoroughly professional and highly enjoyable event for all concerned if the initial reaction is anything to go by – one big electronic music party with a high quality line up producing varied high quality electronic music from traditional Berlin school to avante garde style electronica. All those concerned with its planning and organization on the day deserve full praise for a job well done.

I didn’t watch any of the other acts, no disrespect to them, but in my experience artists try to keep their head clear for their own performance. However, sitting chatting to other musicians in the dressing room during the day, we could hear the on stage acts quite clearly and it all sounded really great. It was also nice to chat to fans as well before our set, but sorry I wasn’t able to socialize afterward due to the knee problem.

Our set for Hampshire Jam was based on music from the long overdue album NYX, and we decided to use several laptops to trigger sequences from Moog, ARP2600, Jupitor 6, Predator and Albino. Rhythms were from Stylus RMX plus some live toms via Alesis DM5 and then additional laptops ran softsynths that were being used for live playing of pads and leads, ie Omnispheres, Albino, ARP, Moog and Minimoog. Various controllers, Roland JP8000, Karma and MS20 completed the physical keyboards used.

We played extended versions of two tracks; “The lighter Side of Gravity” and “The Darkness of Night” and generally we were pleased with the performance. There are often some technical problems, (concerts wouldn’t be the same without ‘em), but mix levels aside, a few bum notes and a slightly ‘off ‘middle section that needs editing before release, the performance was okay and we will be releasing the concert performance through musiczeit, hopefully before Christmas. Check out this youtube for a glimpse of what went on – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hEQ_eGyviY

Thanks to the audience for such a great reaction to the music. We’re working hard to finish the studio album “Nyx” for Christmas release, so hopefully the live Hampshire Jam performance will be a taster of what is to come and a good companion to Nyx! Watch this space………….

Beilefeld Concert 2009

Congratulations and well done to the Organizers for another successful electronic music circus event in Beilefeld. It was good to catch up with friends old and new and despite not having the turnout expected (much like our festival the week before) the fans that did attend were appreciative and had a good time. The music on offer throughout the day was varied and of a high caliber and once again, the help and hospitality of the event organizers was excellent. As an artist, I had a few moans about the evening setup, but these were minor quibbles in the context of the whole day and the event was well managed and the guys really did put their heart and soul into it, and we can’t ask for more than that. Look forward to seeing everyone again at the electronic music circus 2010.

Sines of Life update

Okay, yes, apologies for the long delay. With so much time and effort going into the recent live events and the Shifting Sands album with Ian Boddy, Sines of Life was put on the back burner because of technical issues I had with a couple of tracks. Also, a decision was made to change the artwork. The album will be finished in the next week and will go off for production for end of October release, so expect it to be available at Hampshire Jam!

Sines of Lie volume 2 – At the time of going to press, this is a digital instrumental music download only album and contains all new material, some live, some studio, recorded over the last couple of years. More detail to follow.

Thoughts on electronic music circus in Beilefeld

So, back in the UK after the Beilefeld concert. Shattered after 1100 mile drive, had great fun with Ian Boddy and Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock. Our performance at Beilefeld was not as good as the previous AD Music instrumental music concert due to technical problems. We originally agreed to do the event to help the event organizers try and raise the profile of electronic music after seeing their efforts at last years first event. The problem this year was that, despite all good intentions, and this is NOT intended as a criticism of the organizers, who again did a great job on the day, there was, in my opinion, one act too many and the time allowed for two acts to set up for the evening show and sound check was too short, particularly given the very small stage area. In the end,  the last act suffered, and we just weren’t able to put on the quality of performance we would have liked, and for any artist, that is disappointing.

My initial response may have seemed a little heavy handed to some people, but it was an honest personal reaction from a musician who knew the performance was not as good as it could have been, and who was tired and a little disappointed at that fact. As I have stated before on numerous occasions, the organizers of the electronic music circus event are a great bunch of guys and they are doing a fantastic job for electronic music. Therefore my comments are intended as constructive to help for the future, not to upset or offend.

So, my advise for next years electronic music circus is, maybe consider QUALITY over quantity and ensure all the artists are given adequate time to set up and sound check. The guys did a fantastic job and tried really hard to make it all work, so congratulations and full marks to them for all the effort they put in to make it such a good day, because my moans are minor in the context of a very good event! Hopefully, if they’re still speaking to me, I’ll see them all in Beiefeld next year!