Planets (23-02-2020)

Snowfall  in Muhlcat

comme le vieux volcan, comme le feu sous la glace, tous les souvenirs de nos amours

transboréal

OUT NOW: http://found.ee/RB_PLANETS_PERSONA

A former core member of Porcupine Tree, Richard Barbieri played keyboards on all the band’s albums since 1993 as well as releasing two striking solo albums: Things Buried and Stranger Inside. Prior to this, it was in the new-wave pioneers Japan that he originally came to prominence, helping to create the ground-breaking synthesiser sound that defined the band and influenced the likes of The Human League, Duran Duran, Gary Numan, Talk Talk and a whole raft of artists to follow. Together, the band record five studio albums culminating in the groundbreaking Tin Drum, which stayed in the UK Albums Chart for a year.

His ear for composing unique soundscapes and synth textures recently led to collaborations with other talented composers, such as Steve Hogarth (Marillion) Steve Jansen & Mick Karn (Japan) and Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree).

In 2017, Barbieri releases his most sonically expansive work to date. "Planets & Persona" is his third solo album, but the first to feature such a wide pallet of instrumentation. Vintage analogue synthesisers combine with acoustic performances and jazz elements, including some stark and memorable improvisations from a personally hand-picked group of musicians. Twisted voices are always present, though not in a language we can recognise.

Recorded across Europe in studios in London, Italy and Sweden, Barbieri has succeeded in creating his most ambitious solo release with a central theme of duality that runs through the album.

ORDER THE ALBUM

Richard Barbieri - New Found Land (from Planets + Persona)

Last Day Of June

Some Things Cannot Be Changed

Accept

That Day By The Pier

These 5 songs were originally included as part of a special 3 disc hardback book edition of Insurgentes released on my own label Headphone Dust a few months prior to KScope issuing the standard version. I had around 25 songs in total from the recording sessions, several of which were dropped because they didn't measure up (some of the other leftover pieces are now released on the Insurgentes film DVD), but I felt these 5 songs were as good as the album material, so it wasn't for lack of quality that I left them off, more to do with context and not wanting the album to be too long as a listening experience.  Instead they were included on a separate CD only available with the special edition (and later on vinyl releases).  The whole idea of the special edition was to experiment with doing something really special with the packaging that took advantage of the multi-media aspect of the project (film, photos, music), and to sell only online.  They were very expensive to make and could only be printed as a one-off edition, so I had to guess at how many to make - even then I became so convinced that I wasn't going to be able to sell them that I priced is such that I basically lost money with every copy sold.  Later on I found myself wondering if the small minority that still complained that they had been "ripped off" in only getting a CD, a CD EP, a DVD, and a ten by ten 128 page clothbound full colour book for their £34 were the same people that later sold their copy on eBay for 10 times what they paid for it.  Anyway, I digress....  Here for those that missed out on the special edition, are the bonus Insurgentes songs in full resolution WAVs, enjoy! Best, S