Rick writes…
The last few weeks have seen me spending a lot of time in recording studios, first finishing my album with Jo Jukes and, latterly, recording all the music for the forthcoming Scottish tour of When Mountains Meet.
In mid- February Jo and I spent a couple of days at RMS Studios in south London doing post production work on our new album ‘The Ancestor in Me’. This involved inspecting closely all the 14 songs and ironing out any technical shortcomings that might exist – there are usually a few. After that, we worked with Andy, the resident engineer, on making the artwork for the album. The material for this was largely Jo’s work and, together, we fashioned a very attractive and informative booklet and lyric sheet. Since then, everything has gone to the manufacturers and we are now awaiting the final product. There will be 200 physical CDs, with online access through bandcamp.com.
The official launch date for the album is 20th March, but because of prior commitments the launch performance at Hermon Arts, Oswestry will not be until Friday June 28th. Special guests are planned – book now!
At the end of the month, I journeyed to Scotland to record all the music for the upcoming Scottish tour of the exciting large- scale theatre/ music production of When Mountains Meet. All the music has been written by Anne Wood and the piece tells the true story of her going to find her estranged father in Pakistan. Six musicians contributed to the recording sessions which were held at the wonderful Castlesound studios, south of Edinburgh. The recordings, now completed, await final mixdown and then manufacture into CD form, ready for the tour which begins on April 30.
It’s going to be a busy few months ahead! In addition to the performances mentioned above, on Sunday March 17th Rick will be running an initial Drum Circle at Hafren yr Afon in Newtown, Powys. This venue is a very ambitious Arts Centre under the adventurous stewardship of Barry Edwards, who previously ran the Hermon Chapel in Oswestry.
For more details including booking information about Where Mountains Meet click here. The tour dates confirmed so far are:
Thursday 25/Friday 26 April Edinburgh, The Studio at Capital Theatres
Tuesday 30 April Lerwick, Mareel
Saturday 4/Sunday 5 May (as part of the Rise Up Festival) Aberdeen, Lemon Tree Arts
Friday 10/Saturday 11 May Ullapool, MacPhail Centre
Wednesday 15 May Stirling, Albert Halls
Friday 17 May Crieff, Strathearn Arts
Tuesday 21 /Wednesday 22 May Glasgow, Cottiers Theatre
Saturday 25 May Castle Douglas, Town Hall
Tuesday 28 May Melrose, Corn Exchange
Friday 31 May /Saturday 1 June TBC