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Oliver Wakeman teamed up with vocalist Hayley Griffiths and Nightwish’s Troy Donockley for his first solo album in nearly 20 years.
Launched right this moment (Might 10) through Spirit Of Unicorn Music, the Celtic-inspired Anam Cara is the primary LP to be billed below the keyboard participant and multi-instrumentalist’s title since 2005’s Mom’s Destroy.
It follows collaborations with the likes of Gordon Giltrap, Rodney Matthews (on the Trinity venture) and Enviornment/Pendragon keyboard participant Clive Nolan, in addition to a stint in Yes between 2008 and 2011.
“I see it as a form of non secular sequel to The Three Ages Of Magick [his 2001 collaboration with Yes guitarist Steve Howe], though it’s a totally totally different kind of document,” Wakeman tells Prog. “On that one I used whistles and a violinist and a uilleann pipe participant, and it labored rather well. I went again and listened to it after I did the field units, and it form of stoked that fireplace in me to make use of these devices once more.”
Anam Cara wears its Celtic influences closely, each musically and within the album title, which roughly interprets as ‘soul good friend.’ “It’s becoming, as a result of the songs are about interactions between individuals,” he says. “There’s songs about individuals being away from one another, about individuals from the previous who’re not with us; there’s even a tune a couple of love triangle.
“The songs are all little vignettes. It’s not an idea album, however there’s a theme across the concept of the soul good friend – somebody who’s in search of one thing; a connection.”
Opening observe The View From Right here dates again to 2002, when it was recorded in a distinct kind with vocalist Rachel Williams (“I’ve fully rewritten components of it, however the refrain continues to be recognisable,” says Wakeman). Others are newer, together with the album’s eight-minute centrepiece Marble Arch, the piece that explores a love triangle.
“I’ve mainly been writing all these items of music over time – I’d assume, ‘Effectively, that matches that form of non secular, Celtic factor, so I’ll put it aside with all the opposite songs which are alongside the identical strains,” says Wakeman.
“Then a yr or two in the past, I listened to all of them and thought, ‘Oh, they sound fairly good.’ You then get into it, and truly you find yourself rewriting half the stuff!”
Wakeman enlisted vocalist Hayley Griffiths after being launched to her music through a mutual good friend. “She’s performed rock stuff, she’s performed classical stuff, she’s performed Riverdance – there’s an unbelievable versatility and depth of management to her voice that I wanted.”
Different musicians showing on the album embody guitarist and common Wakeman collaborator Dave Mark Pearce, fellow guitarist Oliver Day and drummer Scott Higham. Donockley offers pipes and whistles.
“I’ve recognized Troy for God is aware of what number of years, however I believed he’d be too busy with Nightwish to do that,” says Wakeman. “However I emailed him, and he got here straight again and stated, ‘Completely like to do it.’”
Griffiths was a part of Wakeman’s band on the Winter’s Finish competition in April, the place they debuted songs from the document. “After that, I’d like to exit and play some exhibits particularly round Anam Cara,” he studies. “But when we do the entire document, I’m actually going to want some whistles and violins and all that stuff.”
Past that, Wakeman has plans to launch a sequel to Mom’s Destroy. “I’ve written it,” he says. “I realised that 2025 would be the twentieth anniversary of that document, so we’ve been speaking about recording the follow-up and going out and enjoying each.”
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